Little Merman: Return to the Sea
by sillypandalover91
Summary: A year has passed and Arthur and his new family are ready to return to the sea however with a new danger lurking in the water, Arthur decides that it's best to stay on land for the safety of his new son. 12 years later he realizes that the apple didn't fall too far from the tree when his son shows signs of his very own curiosity for a world that is forbidden to him.
1. Prologue

**Human Names:**

**England/Arthur**

**America/Alfred**

**Canada/Matthew**

**Prussia/Gilbert**

**Germany/Ludwig**

**Italy/Feliciano**

**Whales/David**

**Australia/Christian**

**New Zealand/ Kyle**

**Scotland/Robert**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Characters of Hetalia nor do I own the Songs from Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea.**

A lone tear escaped a green eye. Pant, pant, gasp. Another tear. The man's heart was thumping rapidly against his chest. But he didn't stop. He couldn't. Pant. Pant. He kept his green eyes trained ahead of him; perhaps if he didn't turn around he could keep calm. Curiosity got the best of him and he turned his head around, eyes widening at the fearfully majestic sight. Oh, he was getting closer! Facing forward again, the man clenched his eyes tight, opening them again seconds later. He needed to keep his eyes open. He needed to see. Pant. Pant. But damn it all, it was getting harder and harder to breath. Had this sort of exercise always been so tiring? A growl from behind only made his heart beat bang its little arms harder against its cage. Oh, why did he have to touch it? Pant. Why did his curiosity get the best of him? Pant. He couldn't have left it alone, could he? Gasp. No, of course not. He couldn't resist himself, not when it was just _there_ begging to be petted and stroked. A bead of perspiration rolled down his matted blonde locks. Gasp, pant, pant, obnoxious laughter?

Arthur sent a side glance to his husband who was running beside him, "Why the bloody hell are you laughing, git?!" He heard another angry growl from behind him and he tried to speed up his running which was a bit difficult given the slippery terrain. He tripped over a branch, cursing when he felt something scratch at his eye. Fear overtook him but he soon relaxed when strong arms picked him up and continued their flee.

"Because Artie," Alfred looked down lovingly at his husband, "I warned you that surface lions are completely different from sea lions." He giggled again and swiftly jumped over another branch, "Daddy lions don't take to kindly to people petting their cubs. I know I'd blow my top if someone were to mess with our baby."

Arthur grumbled to himself, far too embarrassed at the mess he'd gotten them into. Casting a glance over, Alfred's shoulder, he saw that the lion had slowed down. "I wasn't messing with it, I was petting it… didn't think it'd be an issue. At least he's slowing down…"

"Aww, already?" Alfred risked looking his shoulder, pouting slightly when he saw that the lion had given up his chase and was heading back to his pride.

"Don't look so disappointed!"

"But now I can't carry you," wined the blue eye prince.

The merman blushed but made no move to leave his husband's embrace, "You can keep carrying me. I don't mind. Actually, I think it may be for the best."

Alfred slowed down his run to a jog until he saw the familiar engraving on the wall encasing the lands of his summer home. The gates opened for them, guards exchanging amused glances at the state of their prince and the seaprince. Arthur buried his face at the crook of Alfred's neck in embarrassment, taking comfort in the man's strange scent of pine and gardenias combined with his own sea scent. It had almost been a year and the merprince had yet been able to rid himself of the sea water scent, though Alfred had always assured him that he loved that smell. Truth be told, so did Arthur. He loved that he could carry that bit of home everywhere he went.

"Oh, dear," murmured Elizabeta from her chair near the window. "Are you two alright? I knew I should've forced you two to take an umbrella."

Alfred laughed. "It probably would've come in handy but I don't think we have the heart to beat a lion with it."

"Ah." Elizabeta snuggled back into her chair and turned back to her book. "Wait, what?!" The Hungarian was going to ask more about this lion but prince continued onto the master bedroom. She forced herself not to follow, instead dove back into the book of poems Roderich had given her before she accompanied her charges to the summer home. The housekeeper bit her lip and blushed when she came across one that was marked especially for her.

"Kk, Artie," said Alfred as he carefully lowered his husband back to his feet. "You get out of those clothes while I draw us up a bath."

The merman pulled his hand away from his injured eye, wincing when the cool air hit it. "Do you know how," he teased.

"O-of course, I do!" Alfred as he made his way to their bathroom, "What kind of hero doesn't know how to work his own tub? Don't worry, it'll be _very_ relaxing."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at the suggestive toned as he removed his clothing. He knew Alfred's methods of relaxing him and, while very nice indeed, he simply wasn't up for it this evening. Not after being chased by a lion in the rain and possibly damaging his eye. He decided to voice his thoughts, "Darling, I don't think I'm in the mood for something like that." He entered the bathroom in his undershorts and stifled a giggle behind his hand at the sight. Soapy white suds where threatening to spill over the tube and the air had the aroma of a whole bouquet of flowers.

Alfred smiled sheepishly, "Did I overdo it?"

"It's perfect." Carefully walking around puddles of water, Arthur picked up various articles of clothing from the floor and tossed them into a hamper. "Honestly, dear, it won't kill you if you put them in the right container. You know how annoyed Elizabeta gets when you leave your clothes all over the place."

"Sorry. Now come on, let's get in!" He slipped off the last bit of clothing and all but jumped into the tub. Arthur shook his head as he tugged off his own remaining clothes and slipped in as well. Leaning against his husband's strong chest, the merman sighed contently. The hot water instantly relaxed his sore muscles with every lap it made against his skin.

Taking a large shell shaped dish, Alfred filled it and carefully poured over Arthur's hair so that he could wash it. Skilled fingers worked the soap into the golden locks, gently rubbing at his scalp to massage away the head ache he knew his love was starting to develop. The blue eyed prince smiled when he heard his little merman purr at his administrations. When he finished washing Arthur's hair, Alfred picked up a small sponge and worked lavender soap into it before running it across his husband's shoulders, down his back, paying extra attention to his chest area and collar bone. Picking up the dish again, he filled it with clean water and watched the suds race down the pale smooth planes of flesh.

Unable to help himself, Alfred used the pad of his index finger to trace along the trails the water took down his husband's back, followed closely by his lips. He smiled into the flesh that still carried that wonderful smell of the sea when he heard Arthur give a satisfied groan. Arthur lazily turned his head to meet those lips head on. They ignored the sound of rain beating harder against the window as the concentrated solely on each other. Alfred forced himself to calm down. His Artie had said that he wasn't up for anything exciting and he was going to respect his husband's wishes. Coaxing him back into his chest, Alfred ran his hands down Arthur's arms and brought them slowly up his toned stomach where they rested momentarily in thought.

Through his relaxed haze, Arthur knew what Alfred was thinking. After weeks of trying, the blonde had grown dishearten when he realized that he hadn't impregnated his beloved and despite Arthur's insistency that there was no anatomically possible way for him to do so, he had insisted they keep trying. Had you asked Arthur a year ago if he had any plans for children he would've told you no. They would've only gotten in the way of his and Feli's hobby. Not to mention going to the surface would've probably been out of the question had he had a child to look after. Yet, now that he had everything that he wanted, including a wonderful husband, he couldn't help but share in Alfred's disappointment that he hadn't been proved wrong. But he knew better. There _was_ a way. He just wanted to keep it a surprise. The couple jumped when a burst of lightening illuminated their bathroom.

"Woah," exclaimed Alfred, "Is Bobby ok? That didn't look nice."

Arthur shrugged; "I'm sure it's just his weekly sto-" He was cut off by another flash of light followed by a violent crack of thunder. "Huh, perhaps big brother _is_ upset…"

Alfred pulled Arthur closer and rested his chin on the blonde's head. "Why do you think that is?"

"Maybe one of my other brothers did something. Wouldn't surprise me if Murphy lost another mount."

"Wonder what Luddy and Feli are up to. It's been a while since they've come up to visit; what's it been? Like a month or so?"

"One and a half months." Arthur saddened at the thought that his best friend hadn't come up to see him.

"Don't worry, babe. I'm sure Feliciano hasn't forgotten about you. Remember? Luddy told me the last time that they were also trying to conceive."

"That's right!" The merman immediately perked up at remembering.

* * *

A trail of bubbles trailed after anxious cobalt blue tail as the merman swam back and forth. Thoughts kept pouring into his mind, 'Are we ready for this? Isn't it too soon?' Ludwig was pulled from his thoughts when Vash swam out with a cheerful Feliciano. His eyes were immediately drawn to the roundness of his belly. "…So it worked? Are we…"

"Yeah," answered Vash without looking up from his clipboard, "The blood and your, ahem, and you were successfully accepted by the vessel." He handed the file over to his assistant and took the bag she was handing him, "Thanks Lilly."

The mermaid smiled bashfully at her older brother and looked at Feli's roundness with glee, "I hope everything goes smoothly Mr. Feliciano."

"Grazie, Bella." Feliciano giggled at the look his husband sent him but shrugged it off. "Is that bag for us, Dr. Zwingli?"

"Hmm? Ah, yes." Vash handed the bag over to Ludwig who peered into it curiously. "In there you will find books that will explain how to care for the vessel. How to tell if complications arise-"

"Complications?" Ludwig pulled put the book and tried to find the chapter on that. "What complications?"

Vash waved his fears away, "Complications are really rare and if they do occur it's almost always really easy to take care of them. The important thing is to make sure that the water temperature is exact. Also, the vessel must remain in your pouch for exactly 8 hours at two intervals. Whose pouch doesn't really matter but it helps with the bonding."

"Pouch?"

"Haven't you…ah, right." The shorter blonde swam up to Ludwig and probed at his lower abdomen before reaching a few centimeters below the line where his torso met his tail. With experienced fingers he gently pulled away the flap to reveal his pouch, "See? All you have to do is tug at this and the vessel will slip right in. Don't worry," he said when he saw the apprehension on Ludwig's face, "the pouch is more malleable than it looks and when you two take turns keeping it warm, it'll shrink back to normal."

"I see, so it's like a kangaroo." Ludwig coughed at the merman's confused looked, "Never mind. Danke, Doctor."

"You're welcome. Now if you excuse me I have to go see, Emma."

Feli pulled away and looked around excitedly, "Emma's here?

"Yeah. She and that idiot are here for their own vessel's checkup. It's almost time for that one and they want me to give a look over before they set their incubator at the last setting. But you'll read all about that in the reading material I gave you."

The two mermen watched as Vash and his sister moved to another room before departing. Ludwig made sure that Feli swam extra carefully back to their apartment in Atlantica, now that they had precious cargo in their possession. It had taken about two months after they decided to add their names on the waiting list to receive their vessel and a few weeks more to successfully create life within it. Now all the two excited parents to be needed to do was wait a few more months before they could hold their child. Or, as Feli longed, _children_.

* * *

David winced when he saw the flash of light above the water from his window. He hadn't meant to make Robert angry. He sure as hell hadn't meant to upset his other brothers and the last thing he wanted was to upset Feli. It wasn't at all his intention. But seeing that-that…_fish eater_ so happy with _his_ friend when they came over for dinner hadn't sat well with him. Taking a drink from his flask he folded his tail in so that he could rest his arms on top of the mound it created. 'Why the bloody devil fish do I have to feel this way,' he thought bitterly to himself. Perhaps it was the drink that had blurred the line between being a gentleman and a brute or perhaps it was the he was a gentleman where Ludwig was, what did Lovino call him? Ah yes, a potato bastard. What with his stupid perfect muscles that put all of his siblings and him to shame, well maybe not Robert or Christian...but still! And his stupid hair that was the perfect shade of gold, again shaming his own dirty blonde hair. And those damn cerulean eyes…why did Feli have to stare at them with such adoration? Why did they echo the sentiment when his own green ones all but begged to be looked upon in such a way? "Damn it, it's not fair!"

"The hell it's not." Christian swam over to his young brother and sat across from him on the window sill. "What on earth possessed you to-are you drinking?"

"No."

"Give it."

"No."

"_Now_, David."

"I bloody said no, you git! Hey! Give me that back," cried David indignantly as he reached over for his sieged drink.

"I'm not giving this back until you explain to me what on earth possessed you to act the way you did at dinner. As I'm sure you can tell, you've angered big brother to a point he's taking it out on the surface dwellers." When David stubbornly crossed his arms and failed to meet his eye, Christian snorted in annoyance, "Please don't tell me you still have that ludicrous crush on Feliciano. David, that ship has sailed a _long_ time ago before you were even aware of its existence. You need to move on, mate."

"And if I don't want to?"

"You're the one who pushed Feli towards him. Kyle told me about your philosophy and I must say that I was pretty proud of you. What changed?"

David sighed and extended his tail so that the fin rested on his brother's orange and white scales. "Seeing them together did. I thought I could handle it but…I just can't. Them moving was supposed to help but it only made it worse because I couldn't see him and tonight, after seeing him so damn happy and after what they announced, how the hell could you expect me _not_ to freak out."

Christian raised a bushy dirty blonde eyebrow, "Freak out? You call flipping the table and punching Ludwig freaking out? David," he exclaimed reaching out for the younger's shoulder, "you can't do things like that because you're jealous. That isn't prince behavior."

"Oh, but sneaking out of the palace, selling your and your friend's voice for a pair of legs and then risking the well being of sea life as we know it is?"

"I didn't say that, David. All I'm saying is that you are a prince and as such you should treat our guests with respect. Ludwig is a good merman and he-"

"He's not even a real merman! His tail is fake," muttered David.

Christian frowned, put off by his brother's rude interruption. "Be that as it may, he has made an excellent transition from having two legs to not. His strict doctrine has molded the younger mermen into fine soldiers. Better than the ones the previous trainer at the Academy trained."

David rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

"You know, little brother, there are plenty of-"

"Don't say it."

"-fish in the sea." Christian chuckled and ducked when his little brother tossed a pillow at him. "But seriously, you need to move on, brother. Oh, I know! Why don't you come down to the Australian reaf with me? A new governor needs to be appointed and Bobby wants me to go down and take care of it. You should come, help clear your head and what not."

The young merman flicked his tail in thought, "How long would we be gone?"

"I'd say a few months."

"Then we'll come back home, right?"

"Of course. So what do you say?"

"Fine." David pouted when his brother left without giving him back his flask. Looking back out his window his pout saddened when he saw a familiar curl and a flash of blonde make their way home. Perhaps going away would do him some good after all.

* * *

**~A few weeks later~**

Heroes don't pout. Princes don't pout. He knew he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up when his beloved ran to the bathroom when he woke up. He also knew that asking if morning sickness was a sign that they had successfully created life for the hundredth time would only earn him a scowl. The scowl would be soon followed by a string of colorful words before slurring off by dry heaves and the sound of content's being emptied from the stomach. Alfred knew this and yet here he was pouting as he rubbed soothing circles on Arthur's back while the blonde leaned his head miserably against the porcelain bowl.

"I'm sorry," whispered Alfred guiltily. Running his fingers through his husband's hair he continued, "I just really thought we were pregnant this time." Arthur sniffed and wiped his mouth with a moist cloth as he flushed the toilet. He picked up his tooth brush and began to brush in effort to rid his mouth of the bitter taste.

Alfred watched sadly, "I said I was sorry, Artie. Please don't be mad at me." He stood up and pressed himself against Arthur, ignoring the way he glared through the mirror. "Don't be mad."

Spitting out his tooth paste and rinsing his mouth out, Arthur placed his tooth brush next to Alfred's before turning around to face him. "I'm not mad because of that. I'm upset because you keep insisting that I am going to get pregnant. I'm a man for Poseidon's sake! Merman or not, we simply _cannot_ get pregnant!" Sighing, Arthur took his husband's hand in his and led him back to their bed, "Not in the way you're thinking."

"But Francis said-"

"That blasted frog," Arthur shook his head in annoyance. "He may have had good intentions but I can assure you that he isn't always right about things like this."

"We _can't_ have kids, then?"

"I didn't say that, dear." The merman pulled Alfred back under the sheets so that they could cuddle before Elizabeta would enter and force them to start the day. "I'm just saying that it isn't going to happen the way those wankers told you."

"So…_I_ can't get you pregnant?"

"For the last time, no." When Arthur saw Alfred's face fall he took his cheek into his hand and gently tugged so that he could face him. "But we _can_ have children."

"How?"

"Every year Mother Leviathan lays about thirty vessels. These are kept in a safe place deep within Atlantica," continued Arthur.

"Leviathan?" Alfred pulled away and stared at his husband in wonder, "I thought Leviathan was a sea monster. She's isnt?"

"I should say not," sniffed Arthur. "Father once told me that his ancestors allowed humans to believe that because if they knew what she really was then the whole merfolk race would be diminished."

Alfred rolled onto his back to process what his love told him. "So…if Mama Levi lays these eggs and you guys just fertilize them or whatever," he made a face, "does that mean you guys are all related?"

"No! They're not eggs they're vessels. I'm not entirely sure on the particulars but all I know is that the mother takes her blood and drizzles over it over the surface after the father…does his thing and then Vash keeps it in the Nursery until he confirms that there's life within it. When that happens the parents are allowed to take it home and then well, they wait."

"Who's Vash?"

"Vash Zwingli is the Mother Leviathan's guardian and caretaker as his ancestors were before him. Only he is allowed inside the nursery to retrieve the vessels, well him and my brother, Robert. But that's only because he's the sea king."

"Ok, how do we get a vessel?"

"Well…remember how Robert thought Feli and I, uh," Arthur sat up and looked away with a cough, "It would seem that he got over zealous at the prospect of getting nieces and nephews and took the liberty of adding my name to the list."

"So you already have a one to your name?" When Arthur gave a slight nod with a warm smile, his husband cried out, "Oh boy! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" Alfred stood up on the bed and started to jump up and down excitedly, "We're going to be dads! Hear that Maxy?" Max jumped from his cat tree and onto the bed to join his master. "You're going to have a baby brother or sister!" Dropping himself back onto the bed he pulled Arthur close, "When do we get the egg?"

"The _vessel_ is on its way as we speak, Kyle is bringing it. We're going to need materials to build a special incubator. I don't have a pouch…I don't think," he pulled his night gown up to his waist and felt around his abdomen. "No, I don't. So we're going to have to be very careful about keeping it warm until its time for it to hatch."

Footsteps outside their room alerted them that Elizabeta was here to help them get ready for the day. With a sudden wave of mischief, and just because he loved ruffling his husband's feathers, Alfred cast Arthur a side glance, "Hatch, huh? You mean like an _egg_?" He ducked a well-aimed pillow and ran past a confused Hungarian, laughing obnoxiously in his wake.

"Honestly, he can be such a git sometimes," grumbled Arthur with annoyance before smiling fondly, "wouldn't have him any other way." He stretched and got up. "Is my brother here yet, Lizzy?"

"Not yet, sweetie," answered Elizabeta as she drew out some clothes for her prince, "But I heard from the Idiot that a merman with a baby blue tail was spotted just a few minutes ago so I'm sure he'll be here in no time."

Arthur and Alfred waited in their back yard, the later literally jumping out of his seat when he caught sight of his brother in law and a smaller, kind of angry looking, blonde roll over the boulders and into the natural pool. Vash swam carefully up to his prince, in his hands a special carrier to transport the vessel. He gave specific instructions to the two prospective parents about the process involved and told them that he would wait there until they finished. A blushing Arthur was carried back inside along with their precious vessel while an uncomfortable Vash sat in the pool with his companion. Gilbert and Matthew, who arrived back at the palace a week before Alfred, Arthur and Elizabeta, asked questions in regards to Ludwig and Feliciano over breakfast which Kyle happily answered.

"They moved out of the palace a few months ago," explained Kyle while munching on toast, "Ludwig didn't feel comfortable living there after finding out about my brother's uh.." he took a another bite of toast, "any way, he's been doing very well at the Atlantica Academy as a junior military trainer. My big brothers are very pleased with his work."

Gilbert rolled his eyes but grinned, "Yeah. My bruder told me he got a job there. Glad to hear that he's fitting in alright. He is right?"

"More or less." Kyle reached out for more preserves for his toast, "Did you make this yourself? It's really good."

The albino puffed his chest out with pride, "Heck yeah, I did! My Birdie handpicked the berries from his garden and I made them into preserves."

Kyle looked up to the sleeping bird in Gilbert's hair, "You're birdie? Wow! Land creatures are sure talented."

"Kesesese~ I meant, Matthew," clarified Gilbert as he brought an arm around his shy boyfriend. "My prince here has a very nice garden, don't you, Birdie?"

Matthew blushed at the compliment and hugged his bear to him, "It's something I like to keep up with. I also made that syrup there. Tastes really good with Gilbert's buttermilk pancakes." He watched as the merprince reached out for the small jar and poured some over his buttery stack, smiling when Kyle's eyes lit up. "Good, huh?"

"Very! I'll tell ya, mate, Connor and Murphy are going to wish they offered to deliver the vessel after I tell them how amazing this food is. Want some Vash?"

"I'm fine." Vash pulled out his pocket watch, a gift from Feliciano, to look at the time. "How long does human mating take?" He raised an eyebrow when Kyle spit out the orange juice he'd been drinking and blushed heavily. "What? It's an honest question. I _do_ have others who need me."

A sudden awkward silence filled the four companions while they waited. Elizabeta sat down at the table across from Gilbert with a pout. She'd tried to sneak a peek into the couple's room but had found the door locked. Grumbling to herself she shoved a fork full of scrambled eggs into her mouth.

"You have long brown hair and green eyes," noted Kyle thoughtfully. Elizabeta, still chewing, pointed to herself in question. "Yes, and your skin has that golden sheen to it, not too dark, not too light." The Hungarian stopped chewing and narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Sorry, it's just that Roderich has been composing new songs lately for us and all of them have a fair maiden as their subject. They're really romantic and my brothers and I have been trying to figure out who he could've been talking about. Now I see."

Elizabeta blushed and smiled into her cup of coffee, "I'm honored."

The group continued to make small talk while they waited for Arthur and Alfred to complete their business. It wasn't until it was a quarter past eleven that they finally emerged, flush faced and grinning. Arthur carefully handed the carrier back to Vash who inspected it with a nod.

"Ok," said Vash as he secured the snaps back in place, "I will contact you as soon as I see life within it. In the mean time I suggest you build the incubator. Lukas has offered his assistance to make sure it meets all the requirements necessary."

"Wow, this sounds like a lot. I don't remember so much precautions being taken when my younger siblings were being incubated." Kyle giggled good naturedly as he rubbed at the back of his neck.

"It's only because this will be the first time a vessel will be taken care of outside of the sea. I won't be close to keep an eye on it but I trust that Prince Arthur and Prince Alfred will be just fine. So, long as the incubator is perfect and they stay on top of things." Both mermen waved their goodbyes and journeyed back to Atlantica, leaving the two prospective parents to prepare for their vessel's return.

* * *

**Any guesses as to who the 'idiot' Emma's having a child with is? lol**

**So...I honestly have no idea how this is going to come out yet. Haven't planned it out as I usually do. To be honesty I'm not sure if I should stick to the movie or create another side arch like I did with The Angel of Notre Dame. We'll see how it goes. I hope that you guys will enjoy the story...my biggest fear is disappointing y****'all T_T.  
**


	2. Down To The Sea We Go

**In my desire to get this up today, I have not done any grammar check. But I will in a bit. Sorry for the delay. Can't believe I made y'all wait five days _  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Characters of Hetalia nor do I own the Songs from Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea.**

Nine months. It'd been nine long exciting months of watching and caring for their beautiful blue and silver vessel. Or egg as Alfred would affectionately call it much to his husband's annoyance. Currently Arthur sat in a rocking chair with the vessel pressed snuggly against his abdomen and a content smile on his face. In a matter of hours, his little one would grace the world with its presence. The very thought made his heart flutter with joy. The merman looked up when he heard the door of the nursery open quietly and saw Alfred walked in tiredly. He placed a kiss on Arthur's forehead before leaning down to place one against the vessel's smooth surface.

"How did it go," whispered Arthur, carefully getting up and placing the vessel back into its incubator. They watched as the shell changed colors signifying that the life within it was content with the warm temperature.

Alfred followed the tiny bubbles that escaped from the pores on the surface of the vessel and shrugged, "It went rather well, I think. Matthew is a bit nervous about being named crowned prince but I told him that he'd make a pretty awesome king." He pulled his husband into his arms and settled down on a chair so that they could watch their vessel comfortably.

"You know, dear, you don't have to come with me if you don't want to." Arthur leaned his head back so it would rest on Alfred's shoulder. "Since I'm an adult, classes for my magic license will only take me six or seven months. I can always just go and come back after class. You can stick me in the tub or something."

"And miss out on the chance of exploring the sea from under the water? No, way dude! Besides," Alfred blushed and nuzzled against his husband's blond hair, "I'd miss you too much if you did that." They sat quietly for a moment, the gentle hum of the incubator the only thing interrupting their tranquility. "What do you want to name him?"

"I was thinking Dorian. You know like scales of music."

"I like Tony."

Arthur huffed and pulled away, "We are _not_ naming him after a boy you use to date!" He scowled and crossed his arms in annoyance when he heard laughter. "It's not funny, Al."

Giggling anyway, Alfred pulled his husband back against his chest, "Yes, it is. You're too cute, Artie." He kissed his merman's cheek when the later grumbled to himself. "In all seriousness, I really liked the name Peter. It was my dad's name."

"Peter?"

"Yeah. He was a real hero, my dad." Arthur cupped Alfred's cheek to give him a chaste kiss. "Is that a yes to Peter?"

"Can Dorian be his middle name?"

"Sure."

"Then yes."

"Thanks, babe. You don't know how much that'll mean to me and Mattie." He leaned over to kiss Arthur again but a sudden wail came from the incubator. "What's happening?" The blue eyed prince stood up abruptly and got closer to the incubator. "Artie, what's happening?"

Arthur rubbed his bottom and approached the seemingly boiling water. "It's fine, dear." When Alfred turned to give him a look of disbelief, he smiled. "You didn't read the book did you."

"O-of course I did! I just didn't get to finish it."

"Then I suppose you don't know the signs."

"What signs?"

"Our little vessel is going to hatch."

The whole experience should have been a calm one. As prince, Arthur had been required to attend a few hatchings and all of them had been gentle and calm. But with a husband like Alfred and a friend like Gilbert, this hatching wasn't starting out as he hoped. Alfred was jumping up and down in excitement while Gilbert had opened the window and called for Francis. Elizabeta and Matthew had, thankfully, ushered the two members of the self-proclaimed Bad Touch Trio out of the nursery so that the parents to be could have some privacy.

"Why are you taking your clothes off?" Alfred watched as Arthur was removing his boots before stripping down to his boxers.

"Because," Arthur climbed over the high wall of the incubator, "I want to be in there when he comes out."

"Can I get in too?" The prospective father didn't wait for his husband to answer. He started to undo his own pants and shrug off his shirt.

"Just don't move around too much, ok?" Arthur submerged himself into the water and held the vessel carefully in his arms. "Come out, son. Your daddies are eager to meet you," he said gently as he rubbed the vessel. With gentle coos and tender touches the vessel began to open. Alfred went up to take gulps of breath while his husband stayed underwater to coax their son out of the vessel. A few more minutes and ten gulps of air later, the vessel shattered.

In its place was a baby merman. Yawning tiredly from its hard work to shatter the sturdy walls enclosing him, he blinked his blue eyes rapidly, unaccustomed to the bright light. His hazy vision cleared soon enough and he found himself looking up to two blonde men who he assumed were his parents. One had green eyes and funny looking eyebrows, he was crying but had a smile on his face. The other had wide blue eyes and a goofy looking grin…but he was also turning purple. Was that normal?

Arthur looked over his shoulder and nudged Alfred to go back up for air. Turning back to his son he smiled again which in turn made his baby smile. Alfred came back down and grinned cheekily, his eyes a bit red from tears and the sting of the sea water inside the incubator. He marveled at his son's light blue tail and the way the tips of his fin curled delicately out the same way Arthur's did.

"Hello, little one," murmured Arthur as he carefully placed another arm under his baby's tail. "Meet your father, he's not as silly as he looks." The baby merman looked over to Alfred and let out a peal of giggles, bringing two fisted hands to his face and running them up and down his chubby cheeks, blushing when Alfred tenderly held one small hand in his. "Come now, love. Wiggle your fin for me."

Alfred looked at him questioningly before remembering that the newborn would have to work his tail to strengthen the muscles located there. The concept was much like that to a new born colt or calf whom have to stand up immediately after birth. With his lungs begging for air, Alfred reluctantly let go of his son's tiny fist to swim up for air. Peter whined at his father's departure and swam out of his other father's arms to follow.

"Oh my goodness," murmured Matthew when he entered the room again with Elizabeta in tow. "Is that my nephew?"

The older twin looked down at the chubby arms wrapped around his legs with pride, "Isn't he the cutest little hero you've ever met?"

"He is. Can I hold him?"

"I don't know. Let me ask Artie."

Arthur stood up in the tank and nodded, "You can but you have to come inside. He has to stay in the water for forty-eight hours so that his lungs get accustomed taking in water." He turned to Elizabeta, "Is there any way that we can send word to my family?"

"Way ahead of you, sweetie." The Hungarian smiled and sat in the chair in front of the tank to watch Matthew and Alfred fawn over the baby merman. "I sent those two idiots out to tell Robert and Feli. His vessel should be hatching by now too, right?"

* * *

A brunette merman swam as quickly as he could to the king's chambers. 'Oh how exciting,' thought Toris to himself. He knocked a few times before entering the room.

Robert looked up from one of the books he borrowed from Arthur's grotto, "Uh…yes, Toris?"

"Your majesty, forgive me for intruding but Francis just came by to give me the most wonderful news! His young highness Prince Arthur's vessel has hatched. You have a nephew!"

The sea king tossed the book onto his bed and swam out to hug his Harold before swimming out to give the good news to his brothers, unbeknownst to him that a black and silver lion fish overheard everything.

* * *

Feli and Ludwig stirred from their sleep when a series of rapid knocks came from their door. Ludwig unwrapped his arms from around husband to feel for his pocket watch. Groaning at the time he dropped his head back onto his pillow. Perhaps if they didn't make a sound whoever was on the other side would go away. The knocks became more insistent and Feli made a groan of disapproval.

The Italian merman growled in annoyance and swam out of bed to open the door, "Ve! You better have a good reason to-" He stopped in mid rant when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders, mindful of his round belly. "David? What are doing here? It's really late."

"I know but I came as soon as I heard to tell you the good news!" David pulled away when the door opened wider to reveal and agitated Ludwig. Ignoring the bigger merman, the prince locked eyes with his friend. "Arthur's vessel hatched. We're uncles, Feli!"

Feliciano gave a happy yelp and hugged David in joy, "Oh, that's wonderful! Isn't it, Luddy?"

Ludwig stopped glaring at the other blonde to look down in his husband with a smile. "Ja, I'm sure Alfred is very pleased. We should go visit them."

"You can't," said David when Feli released him of their embrace, "The baby needs to stay in the water for two days. Every merman knows that."

The glare returned to Ludwig's features as he directed his attention back to the sea prince, "I know. I've read the book. Now if you excuse us, _my_ husband needs his rest. He is after all keeping our children warm." The German ran his hand fondly over Feli's rounded pouch, "Good night, Prince David." He shut the door and led Feli back to their bed.

"Ve~ Luddy that wasn't very nice."

Ludwig shrugged, "I wish I _could_ be nice but the little Arschloch is asking for it. What kind of man keeps chasing after a married man? Especially one carrying another's children?"

"Amore mio," murmured Feli running and hand on his husband's chest, "you know that I'm not going anywhere. David is just…confused I think. He'll get over his crush on me. Besides you shouldn't be so hard on him. Had it not been for Arthur's big brother, you and I wouldn't have…you should be thanking him." At his husband's grunt, Feli grinned, "Let's just go back to sleep, si? We'll be able to visit Arthur and Alfred when the time is right."

"Good night, Liebling."

* * *

_**One week later**_

The morning warm and crisp with the sea mist, embraced the oncoming ship and its passengers. Sky glowing with soft hues of gold as the sun rose to bless the day with its presence. A beautiful voice full of tender love beckoned a seagull to the window of the nursery on the ship. The bird watched with sparkling blue eyes as the new father sat out a white gown, vocalizing as he did.

Coos from a sea shelled shaped pool pulled Arthur from his task. The merman turned to his child and saw that Peter was reaching out his stubby arms towards him, "Do you want me to carry you, love?" At Peter's smile and baby gibberish he chuckled. Picking him up, he placed him gently onto a changing station so that he could dry him off before slipping on the gown and tying a bow at his neck with blue ribbon. Peter babbled at his father, reaching out again so that the man could pick him up but Arthur ran a brush through his hair instead to smooth out his golden locks.

Arthur gave a sigh. Who knew that parenthood would feel so much better than anything he could have possibly imagine. The sheer joy this angel and his father brought him warmed him deeply from his fingertips all the way down to the tips of his toes. The feeling just made him want to sing again. Peter cooed in joy when his father finally picked him up, "You are my world, my darling. What a wonderful world I see." Arthur placed a hand delicately behind his son's head while the other supported his lower half as he made his way to the window to overlook the ocean. "You are the song I'm singing.  
You're my beautiful Dorian."

"Artie, we better be going." Arthur looked up to see Alfred grinning from ear to ear dressed in his white naval uniform.

Glad that he had done as he asked and changed into something decent, his silly husband had wanted to wear just his boxers because 'I'm just going to end up naked and with a tail anyway' as he so eloquently put it, he motioned to their giggling baby. "Look at him isn't he glowing?"

Alfred beamed wider and smoothed out the unruly lock of hair that Peter inherited from him as he led his two boys out the door, "He looks divine, and you look exquisite, but look at the time."

"Couldn't be, is it?"

Matthew, also dressed in his white naval uniform, smiled kindly at his family. "The crew is awaiting your orders." At his feet Kumajirou stood in curiosity with Max and Oliver on his head.

"We're sailing away from the borders," called out Gilbert as he maneuvered the ship towards the meeting ground, losing grip on the wheel momentarily when he lowered his eyes mischievously down his boyfriend's body.

Elizabeta saw what he did and giggled, "Steady boy steady!"

"Ahoy there, they're coming," shouted one of the sailors from the mast.

"Trumpeters ready, drummers start drumming!"

Arthur and Alfred walked down the stairs of the ship with Peter snug in his father's embrace. The merman snuffled his son's hair lovingly, "Down to the sea we go, down to a world I know. There's never been, not ever before, a child born of sea and shore." Wolfgang and his wife bowed before their young prince and his family as they descended. Both were eager to see their young son and their son in law again.

"Down to the sea we go," sang the rest of the passengers along with the sea prince, "Down to the world below. A journey to bless a prince to be under the sun and under the sea."

Francis grinned and took off from his spot on the mast, turning into a merman and dove deep into the water. Knocking at the door he knew to be Antonio's and Lovino's, he called out, "Arthur is coming," before swimming off to alert Mathias and his siblings. "Arthur is coming!"

Tino poked his head out his window, "Arthur is coming?"

"Arthur is coming!" All around him, excited sea life and merfolk alike echoed the news to one another. "Arthur is coming, Arthur is coming, Arthur is coming," until it finally reached the palace.

A dark haired merman paused his orchestra when he heard the joyful cries outside. Feigning annoyance, Roderich glared over his shoulder, "What's all the big commotion that's spreading through the ocean from sea to shining sea?" Chuckling, he motioned for his ensemble to go ahead, "There is no hesitating  
today we're celebrating, Arthur's Dorian." He followed them out, "Today when Robert's brother comes back here to the water, we're gonna have a spree!"

"The boat is nearer now," sang Mathias with a grin as he spotted his wife and brother in law, "I think I hear him now, Arthur's Dorian."

Emma giggled and tugged her brother with her, "Lad-da-di-da-da-da, lad-da-di-da." Her son loved it when she sang to him and the little blonde let out a peal of giggles when he heard her voice. Mathias handed over their son to his wife and took her instrument for her. "Lad-da-di-da-da-da, lad-da-di-da."

"Up from the sea we rise, up to the world of skies. There's never been, not ever before, a child born of sea and shore." Feliciano carefully took the vessel from Ludwig's pouch and slipped it into his own. The vessel baring twins had taken a little longer than Arthur's to hatch but he had a feeling that it would hatch soon. Ludwig wrapped a protective arm around his love and ushered them slowly towards the surface.

Around them, fellow merfolk swam eagerly, "Up from the sea we rise. Up to the world of skies. Forever to be, together as one, under the sea and under the sun." The passengers on board the ship watched excitedly as merfolk popped out of the water to great them. Roderich caught Elizabeta's eye and winked before melting at the sight of his charge's son.

Arthur motioned to his fellow merfolk, "_This_ is your world my darling; one world the land and sea. My hope for you for always," Peter clung to his father's shirt and cooed happily when the merman nuzzled against his head, "is that your heart will hold part of me." He looked up again when trumpets cued the merfolk to make way. The royal guard emerged, their golden sheened swords touching the ones opposite of them delicately before separating as the Sea King and the Sea Princes rose up from the water.

"Down to the sea we go," sang those on the ship.

"Up from the sea we rise." Enchanting tenor voices escaped from the Sea Princes as their oldest brother summoned a pillar of water to raise him to their youngest and nephew. Robert ran a wet hand over Peter's hair, gently cupping the baby's ruddy cheek.

"Down to the world we know!" Peter grabbed his uncle's hand and giggled, his blue tail flipping up and down in excitement of seeing one like him.

"Up to the world of skies!"

Their voices blended into a beautiful harmony as both merfolk and those from the surface sang together in honor of their baby prince. "Together we come, forever to be, under one sun. The land and the sea!" Grinning when the baby smiled at him, Robert sent a beam of energy through the air that left behind a trail of color in its wake.

Alfred and Arthur blushed from all the compliments and congratulations but couldn't be prouder of their little bundle. Their baby clapped in joy and tried to reach out for one of the blue petals that rained upon them. Alfred caught one for him and tickled his little nose with the tip before placing it on his hair. The blue eyed prince looked over the rail of his ship to wave at Ludwig, "Is there any way we can get them up here too?"

"I'm sorry, dear," said Arthur sadly. "As much as I would love to hug Feli myself, he has to stay in the water. The vessel is already accustomed to that water temperature and taking them out would risk complications."

"Aw." Alfred looked at his friends apologetically.

Robert chuckled, "Don't worry, lad. You and Arthur will be joining them soon enough." He shook his head in amusement when he caught sight of Arthur elbowing his brother in law in the rib to keep him from jumping up in down in excitement. "My precious Peter," feeling around in his own pouch, he pulled out a golden shell by its chain, "I'm giving you this locket so that you'll always remember that part of your heart will always belong to the sea."

Peter watched as a bubble of water encasing a miniature version of Atlantica appeared when his uncle opened the locket. Two miniature twin mermen chased each other playfully while three others watched with gleeful grins; they turned to face Peter and offered a wave before chasing each other again. Robert closed it, "You have no idea how long it took Lukas to make this. Your brothers were acting like a bunch of ninnies, 'oh but our hair doesn't look right' 'does this arm band make my arms look fat'," he mocked with a laugh. "Murphy was probably the worst of the bunch."

Arthur chuckled, "He always-" The merprince gasped when a tentacle reached out from the water and wrapped itself around Peter to yank him out of his father's grasp. "Peter!"

Everyone watched in horror as Peter was dragged away from the ship and kept in a tight grasp in the black tentacle. Cruel feminine giggles turned into cackles when Natalya raised the rest of her body from the water. "Hello, comrades," she hissed venomously.

Alfred chewed his lip, a habit the merman learned he did when he was furious. "Arthur, who is that?" His blue eyes followed his son's movements carefully, one hand on the handle of his sword. Beside him Matthew was calculating whether the use of their cannons would harm his nephew if used on this sea witch.

"That, dear, is Ivan's _other_ crazy sister. Natalya," said Arthur stiffly. His hands were fisted and his eye brows knitted in anger.

"It warms my heart to hear that you remember me, Prince Arthur." Natalya looked around as she climbed up the side of the ship, "Do you like my new look? I followed Big Brother's spell to the very last minuscule detail." She lifted the tentacle that held Peter to her face, "Is this a party? Why was I not invited?"

With a hand clenching his glowing Trident almost painfully, Robert gritted his teeth in anger. "Natalya," he growled quietly, "Surrender the baby or I'll-"

"Tsk. Tsk. Robert." Natalya nuzzled her cheek against Peter's before placing a sweet kiss on his pale flesh, "That temper of yours is going to be your undoing one of these days, your _majesty_. Or theirs." She motioned to the humans on board the ship then at the darkening skies that usually followed Robert's anger. Giggling again when Robert's eyes narrowed she bounced Peter up and down much to the baby's joy. "You know, I think Arthur was about his age when Ivan first held him. I bet he and my sister would've loved to be here to hold the next generation but something came up." Bringing another tentacle rub her chin in thought, "Now what was it… ah, yes. You guys shish kabobed one and vaporized the other!" She feigned ignorance when she noticed Elizabeta come from behind her, "One moment you're on top of the world the next you're fish bait." Turning around she grabbed the Hungarian by her throat, "Now is that fair, dearie, I ask you?"

"Let her go," cried Roderich as he tried to climb onto the ship.

Tossing Elizabeta aside, the mermaid narrowed her only eye at Arthur, smirking at his look of desperation, and then focused her attention on Feliciano, her eye lowering to his belly. When she saw Ludwig hold his husband protectively her smirk grew devilish. She climbed up further up onto the ship and wrapped her tentacles around the mast, "What do you say little one?" She balanced Peter by the tip of her tentacle, "An eye for an eye seems fair, right? Oh, Damien!" Natalya didn't even bother to conceal the pleasure she derived from Feliciano and Arthur's gasp when they heard _his_ name.

Merfolk and sea creatures alike felt the scales of their tail tingle in warning. Something dangerous was lurking in the water. Kyle turned around and cried out, "Shark!" Parents took their children in their arms and cowered behind the guards. Emma felt her self being lifted by her husband while she held onto Willem, their son. The infant merman looking alarmed at the sight of the monstrous great white.

Damien relished in the panicked screams he induced by his sheer presence, "Make way, little mershrimp," he growled, "I'm coming through!" He stopped when he smelled Feliciano and turned to look at him, then at his swollen abdomen. 'So the merbrat is carrying a child is he?' he thought to himself, ' I've never had one still inside a vessel. Wonder what they it'll…' he paused and sniffed the water before grinning toothily, 'not just one. Two! Oh, this is just too good.' Damien changed course and stalked the auburn haired merman instead. "Oh, how cute." The merman chuckled darkly when he saw the five Sea Princes from a protective circle around Feli. "You merprinces really think you can take _me _on?"

"Damien," snapped Natalya. "Forget him. I have something far more delicious for you…_darling_."

"Of course, Mistress." The great white stopped stalking and turned to the mermaid with his mouth open, his eyes not leaving the mouthwatering morsel in Natalya's tentacle.

"No," whispered Arthur. He and Alfred watched in horror as the mermaid clad in black seashells and tentacles dangled their precious Peter a few feet above of the shark's waiting mouth.

Natalya tightened her grip on the baby's white gown and turned to Robert, "Hand over the Trident or your darling nephew will be brunch." Peter began to whimper, his baby scales tingling in warning.

The Sea King lowered his Trident, his emerald orbs followed every movement the tentacle holding Peter made., "You can have anything you want. Just, _please_, don't harm little Peter."

Seeming pleased with the response, the platinum blonde mermaid retracted her appendage. "Well, well. This is a surprise. I told Natasha and Ivan you would do as he wanted if he just asked nicely. Then again, I suppose he was one for theatrics." Wiping a nostalgic tear from her eye, Natalya made her way closer to Robert. "No, matter. I get the Trident, avenge my poor unfortunate siblings, and become the new ruler of the oceans. I must say, this isn't such a bad morning. Don't you agree, Little one?" The mermaid tossed Peter up and caught him again in her tentacle before running clammy hand through his golden hair.

"Dude, just shut up and give me my son back!" Alfred pulled out his sword and cut through the rope holding up the bowsprit. The massive wooden beam swiveled around and knocked her off the ship's rail.

"Peter!" Arthur jumped after Natasha and used the blade Christian gave him as a wedding gift to slice through the tentacle wrapped around his baby.

The mermaid gave a pained hiss as her tentacles disappeared, leaving in their wake her tail, then fin torn in half. "Damien!"

"Way ahead of you, Mistress." The shark charged towards Arthur but was quickly shrunk down by a blast from the Trident. It took a moment for Damien to realize what happened to his body. "What the…Holy Poseidon!" Shocking himself back into a merman he flailed in the water, "What have you done to me?! Look at me! I've chibified!"

Growling in anger, Natalya allowed her other two henchmen to help her swim away, "This isn't over Robert. Not by a long shot; I _will_ have my revenge!" Damien followed after them.

The red headed King furrowed his bushy red brows, "After her!"

Natalya pulled out a sea conch and smashed it, creating a dark vortex around herself and her stingrays, "You'll never find me," she said in a sing-song voice. "But I'll find you and your precious nephew!" The guards tried to follow the group into the vortex but it disappeared along with their targets.

"We will not rest until that madwoman is vanquished," growled Robert. The people on the ship looked over to the sea king with wide eyes as the sky turned even darker and lightning weaved through the clouds. Alfred was helping his husband back onto the ship when he heard a violent crack of thunder, his son whimpering at the sudden change of moods. "Find her. Find her!"

It was well past supper when Robert rose to the surface waters in his brother's back yard. Arthur pulled away from Feli's arms and ran to his brother in hopes of good news. However, the sea king had dark circles under his eyes that made him look years older than he truly was. That look alone was enough for Arthur to know that they had not succeeded in finding Natalya.

"I'm sorry, Artie," murmured Robert sadly. "We've looked everywhere, including that cave you told us about, but there is no sign of Natalya or her people." He took Arthur's hand in his when he saw that he broke eye contact, "We'll keep trying, little brother."

"No, little one." Arthur tugged his hand away from his brother's to pick up Peter as the child tried to drag himself closer to the water. "We have to keep, him away from the water. Until that wretched woman is found, Peter won't be going into the sea…and neither will I."

"What?"

Arthur sighed sadly, "I cannot risk my husband's or child's lives. If she's only half the kind of mermaid her sister was or powerful as her brother, Natalya will not stop. What's worse is that she knows what we did which makes her all the more tenacious." Shaking his head with resolution, he slipped off the locket from Peter's neck, "Peter can't know about merpeople or Atlantica or even…or even you Bobby."

Robert ran a hand through his hair before taking the locket, "We can protect you, Arthur. Your brothers and I…this is what we are here for, to protect you. Feli," he turned to the Italian merman, "Feli, tell him! Ludwig has been doing an excellent job training our guards and-"

"Big brother, please. Please don't make this harder than it needs to be." Arthur walked up to his brother and pulled him in for a hug. "Please, understand.

The sea king sighed in defeat, "I do…I just wish there was another way." He returned the embrace, mindful of his nephew between their bodies. He chuckled weakly when Peter reached out and tugged on his red hair, "Oi, Laddie, you be good to your papa, yeah?" Robert took his nephew and hugged as tightly as he could without hurting him. "I'm going to miss you and your father," he murmured to the baby. "Are you positive about this, Arthur?"

"I am." Arthur watched as his brother tapped the tip of his Trident against his son's tail. After the golden glow disappeared two chubby legs were left in its wake. Peter kicked them happily.

"Should I erase…his memory as well?"

"That won't be necessary, dude," Alfred took his son back, "He's just a baby. I doubt he'll remember any of this."

"Feli?" The blonde merman turned to look at his best friend, "Feli what are you and Ludwig going to do?"

Feli bit his lip and turned to his husband, "Luddy?"

"I'll do whatever you want us to do, Liebling." Ludwig placed a hand on his merman's pouch, "If you want to stay in Atlantica we can. I promise that I won't let any harm to our children."

"But what about your family up here?"

"We can see them in the summer when they go to the summer villa."

"Ve~" Feliciano looked at the water in thought, his tail flickering up and down. "We will discuss this some more later. Our bambini still need to hatch. But , Arthur, remember what I told you. No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you." He tugged at his half of the seashell on his bracelet and offered a smile.

Arthur nodded and showed him his half around his neck before giving his friend one last hug. "Good bye, old chap. Perhaps one day we will pick up where we left off and all three of us can join you guys in Atlantica." He turned to give his brother another hug as well, "I love you, Bobby."

"And I you, little brother." Robert watched as Arthur turned to leave with his husband and child before poking at Roderich. The dark tailed merman had gone with Elizabeta to make sure she was alright and had only just come back to join them. "I need you to do me a favor, Roddy." Roderich stopped fiddling with his glasses and stared at his longtime friend. Oh…oh no. Not again. His stomach twitched with nervous anticipation for what Robert was going to ask of him, though he had a strong feeling he already knew. "I need you to keep an eye on Peter."

Roderich's lips formed a thin line but he nodded stiffly. Of course. Why not? After all he did such an excellent job with his last two charges.

The sea king looked at his brother one last time; Peter gave him a tiny wave from over Alfred's shoulder, making Robert smile sadly. He brought the locket up to his face before tossing it into the water and made his way back home with Feli and Ludwig.

* * *

**I'm not particularly proud of this chapter. I think my writing is slipping T_T Then again, I'll probably go back and reread it once it's posted and all cleaned up and fall in love with it as I do with almost all my chapters. A big thanks to all of you who have added this story to their favorites and to their alert list =3 I honestly wish that my new story Love Has No Recipe got as much love as this one did...or any other ones for that matter. *sigh* Anyway don't forget to vote for the next Disneytalia story you will like to see after this one on my poll. Have a great Thanksgiving, or if you don't celebrate it then have a great Thursday ^_^**

**ps- Updates will normally be once a week for both stories but seeing as this one is more popular I will try and post chapters up for this one first. Also, how do Beta readers work?  
**

**Until Next Time~**

**Chocochino11: Thank you so much for the review! I was beginning to think that I made a terrible prologue. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well ^_^**

**VivaAmerica: Thank you! I'm glad you thought so. =3**

**zoewinter1: Thank you for having faith in the story. It really helps give _me_ faith that it'll turn out ok lol =)  
**

**Marshal Thompson: Of course ^.^ Thank you so much for the review!**

**xXxEmeraldBluexXx: *blush* Thank you for the compliment and review, I'm really happy you enjoyed The Little Merman. =3**

**aycee-san: lol I'm happy that you're happy. Thank you for the review!**

**YaoiFanGirl9211998: Here ya go, I hope it was worth the wait ^.^ Thank you leaving me a review**

**elizabeta H. Austria: ^_^ **


	3. Like Father Like Son

**Bulgaria/ Milen**

**Romania/ Vladimir**

**Seborga/Fabrezio**

**Monaco/Madeline **

**OC/Gerita son: Amadeus **

**OC/Gerita son: Marcello**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Characters of Hetalia nor do I own the Songs from Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea.**

**~12 Years Later~**

"Then they walked through the kelp forest and as the brave merman cut through them to make a path for his group, he noticed that one just wouldn't go down. So he hit it harder and harder but it wouldn't budge. As it turned out it wasn't kelp. It was a giant Eel and it chased him and his friends!"

Sky blue scales glimmered every time the merman's tail twitched in excitement as it always did every time he told the story to his children. He watched as the group before him waited for him to continue with wide eyes, some had their arms wrapped around their tails while others nibbled on their snacks. He felt a small hand tug on his necklace, making him look down at the honey colored eyes staring at him in wonder, "Then what happened, Uncle David?"

"Well, sometime during the pursuit, the young prince dropped his music box and went after it. His best friend saw that he had diverged from the path so he went after him and protected him from these nasty eels." David made sure the child on his lap was leaning against his chest so that he wouldn't fall off before reaching behind him and pulling out a piece of string. He began a cat's cradle and continued his tale, "Being ever so slender and quick on his fin, the brave merman swam through the group of eels," he mimicked the movements with the string and his fingers, "until they were all knotted up with each other that they couldn't move." The merman showed them the finished cat's cradle.

"Wow," murmured the kindergarten group of merchildren. The little one on the merprince's lap beamed with pride at the merman in the story.

"Now, now, kids. Let's not forget about our dear crustacean prone caretaker. Rodrich was fighting for his life against Sadiq. He bested him of course but when everyone was cheering for their triumph, Sadiq torpedoed himself towards Roddy but Prince Arthur took the hit." He waited for the kids to finish their gasps of horror. "Because we have fragile bodies, my little brother passed out on impact."

A little girl in front of the group hugged her kitten shaped sponge to her chest, "Did he…die?"

"No, little one." David placed aside his string and patted the child on his lap's head, "However, it did make King Robert see the error in his ways. The shock of almost losing the youngest of us brothers was too much but things went back to normal here in Atlantica." He pursed his lips in thought before grinning, "Well, almost. King Robert let himself be happy again and he started to have fun with the rest of us, after taking care of his royal duties of course. And music was once again ringed clear from one end of the kingdom to the next. Rodrich was named the royal court composer and Lovino became the new chief of staff, of course that only happened after his husband, Antonio, came back."

David looked up to see that the parents were arriving to pick up their children, "But that's a story for another time. Have a good weekend, little ones. And don't forget that you guys have a spelling test on Monday!" He chuckled at the groans of disapproval from his class and got up from his rock. "Come on, Marcello. I'll take you to your dad's class. He should be finishing up by now, too."

"It's ok, Uncle David. We can take him home." Two mermen stood outside the classroom with their book bags over their shoulders. "You know, I like how you tell that story better than my Papa.

The merprince chuckled, "Oh?"

Amadeus ran a hand through his blonde hair, avoiding the curl, with a grin, "Yeah, when you tell it you don't include the fact that papa was screaming his head off when he took on the eels." Ludwig's little doppelganger took Marcello's hand in his, "We'll see you later. Come on, Bruder."

"Coming, fratello! Vati is looking for you by the way." Fabrezio waved good bye to his uncle and followed after his twin. The Beilschmidt-Vargas brothers swam back home while David grabbed a small wrapped box before going in search of the blonde merman he used to detest. Over the years they had somehow let go of their differences and grown to be good friends. Of course this only happened because Feliciano had begged them to get over their childish jealousy of one another. Putting that aside, it turned out that they did have some things in common. David hadn't completely gotten over his feelings for his friend but he had accepted that his piece of the puzzle didn't quite belong where he wanted it to go. However, he had found that it fit perfectly in another place.

When he first held the twins, Amadeus and Fabrezio, he found that he couldn't hate the German for giving Feli happiness. The glow he had when they hatched had amazed not only David and his brothers but Lovino as well, who hated his brother in law a whole lot more than David ever could. But like David, Lovi, too, let go of that hate and now things were as they should be. Well, almost. The merprince stopped outside of Ludwig's office and knocked before entering, "Hear you were looking for me."

"Hmm?" Ludwig turned around in his seat and pulled off his glasses, "Oh, ja. I was. I'm going up to the surface to meet with my bruder and was wondering if there was anything you wanted me to give him to give to Arthur. Your other bruders have already given me some correspondence and I was just waiting for you before I head up there."

"I-uh-I have _this_ but it isn't for Arthur."

"For Peter?"

"Yeah. I know, Artie told him that he has distant uncles or whatever so I figured that maybe I could give him this. It is his birthday today after all." He held out the small box to Ludwig.

"What is it?" The larger merman took the box and placed it gently in his satchel.

"It's one of the royal rings. All of us Triton sons have one. Arthur still has his and he mentioned that he'd like one made for Peter as well." David shrugged, "Figured it should be fine if he said it was fine."

"I see."

"Yup…well, don't get caught, ok? I heard from Rodrich that Peter takes after his father in more ways than one."

"So I've been told. Don't worry. Gilbert and I meet away from the palace waters."

"Where?"

Ludwig let himself smile fondly at remembering the plot of beach where he found his Feli years ago, blushing at the fact that he'd been nude, "It's a place that holds a special meaning to me."

* * *

Not much had changed at the palace, save for the hundred foot wall around it. Aside from that minor detail everything else had remained the same. The walls were still painted blue, only now they also sported tiny hand prints growing larger in size as the young prince grew older. The rooms were still regal, with the exception of a few toys here and there, although as to whom they actually belonged to was questionable. Ok, perhaps the palace _had _changed somewhat but it was a change that had been welcomed with open arms. And today that change was going to be celebrated for the twelfth year in the row.

"Peter?"

As servants bustled about to carry out their orders from Elizabeta, the Hungarian was also helping out where she could, Arthur searched the palace for his son. He thought that perhaps he'd be with his father but Alfred had assured him that he hadn't seen him since breakfast. Matthew hadn't either for that matter. Sighing, the green eyed sea prince continued his search until he reached the ball room where he saw more servants setting up tables and decorations. "Lizzy, dear," he called, "a moment?"

"Yes, of course, sweetie. What's up?" The Hungarian woman tucked a lock of hair behind her ear; her green eyes darting around the room to make sure her subordinates were working diligently.

"You haven't seen Peter around have you?"

"No, I'm sorry, I haven't. Not since this morning at least." She offered an apologetic smile and returned to her duties. Only a couple of hours left before the guests arrived and she still needed to get ready.

Arthur mentally checked off all the places his son could go, "Ah! The kitchen, haven't checked there yet." The prince walked towards Gilbert's kitchen and knocked before entering. He found the albino chef carefully apply blue candles on top of the last tier of his cake. "Gil, is Peter in here?"

"Hm?" Gilbert looked over his shoulder before shaking his head, "I'm sorry, no but his cake is. Kesesese~ isn't it awesome? An awesome cake for an awesome ki-woah!" His red eyes widened when he nearly toppled onto the cake. "Whoops," he said with a nervous laugh, "That was a close one, ja?"

Arthur shook his head fondly at his friend, his clumsiness briefly reminding him of Feli. Sighing again, he closed the door and decided that perhaps he should go check his son's room again.

"Is mon petite gone?"

"Ja."

"Wonderful," cried Francis jovially as he flew down from the beam above them. "I've come to tell you that your brother is waiting for you at the usual spot. You better hurry, mon ami. The guests are starting to arrive."

"Already?" Gilbert checked his pocket watch with a frown, "How rude to show up so early the party doesn't start till…. No, matter. I won't be long. Hold down the fort ok, Gilbird?" His yellow bird chirped in response from his ledge after his master and Francis took off to meet Ludwig.

'Oh, wait. Didn't Arthur say Peter was missing,' thought Francis. "Perhaps I should go tell the little one that his papa is looking for him." The seagull prone merman deviated from his flight path and went in search of the little blonde and his blue care taker.

Rodrich grumbled to himself in annoyance. Twelve years. It had been twelve long and tiring years since he'd been tasked with looking after Peter. And though he can't say he didn't mind, he did like the boy and Arthur was like a little brother to him after all. Not to mention that he got to spend a lot of time with Elizabeta and he _did_ enjoy messing with Gilbert in the kitchen. Still… "'Roddy, you look after him', he said. 'Do me this favor,' he said." The blue crab hopped from one rock to another, "I'm too old for this! I should be retired by now, relaxing with my love, maybe playing a little sea golf; _not _babysitting another teenager."

His young charge had managed to escape from him in the one hour he'd taken to go report to Robert. Rodrich had actually requested that he no longer watch over the boy. Natalya hadn't made a move since that fateful day and perhaps the ocean was safe for them to return but the Sea King insisted that he continue to watch over Peter until she and her minions were caught. He stepped aside when Francis landed next to him, still muttering to himself. Offering only a wave as acknowledgment to the other's presence, Rodrich jumped into the water tiredly. "I mean I would like to have my own kids as well. Babysitting Arthur, Feli, and Peter has certainly given me enough experience." Speaking of which, was that his charge in the distance? Rodrich narrowed his eyes behind his glasses to see if the figure was Peter.

Climbing onto a small rock to get a closer look, the blue crab confirmed that it was indeed Peter. The boy was wearing his usual blue shorts but was only wearing a white tank top and a blue hat. Beside him was a dolphin that Connor had sent to keep an eye on his nephew when he found out that he would sneak into the sea. They were collecting sea shells again. No matter, he found his charge and that was the important part.

"Peter!" Rodrich called out the small blonde prince and waved his claws over his head to get the boy's attention but Peter swam up to get some air. The merman swam after him.

"Hey, there Rodrich," chirped Peter cheerfully. "Hey, Francis, what's kickin'?" He carefully rearranged the shells in his satchel so that more could fit.

Francis smoothed his feathers down before warmly addressing his little friend, "What is kickin'? Honhonhon, I'll tell you what's kickin'. There is a-" he closed his beak with a frown. What was he going to say again? It had been something important because he rushed here as soon as he could. But why? "Now, hold on, mon petite. Don't rush me." The French merman brought a wing to his little bird chin in thought.

Rodrich rolled his eyes and pointed at his charge with a claw, "_You _know perfectly well what's kickin'. Now, come along. You're going to be late for the par-" His rant was short lived when he got a mouthful of water after Peter jumped back into the sea.

"Whoops," said the boy with a giggle, "Sorry, Rodrich.

Sputtering and coughing out the last of the salt water, Rodrich looked at his charge exasperatedly. "Peter Dorian Jones, how many times do I have to tell you-"

Peter giggled again and leaned on the rock, looking at his caretaker through amused blue eyes. How many times had he recited the same thing over and over again? Well, enough for the boy to recite it back verbatim. Taking up the same pose Rodrich was in he recited along with him, "It is expressly forbidden for you to be swimming beyond the safety of the sea wall." Rodrich noticed what Peter was doing and stopped talking but his charge continued on. "Any such swimming is a reckless disregard of the rules, don't you know?"

The little one even had the nerve to make fun of his accent. Rodrich was not amused and voiced his opinion as such but Peter gave him a sweet pat on his head and threw himself back into the water with a happy grin. "I'm sorry, Roddy, but I can't help it. I just love the sea!"

"Hey, come back here," cried Rodrich as he followed after Peter. "You're just like…" he stopped half way and looked his charge worriedly, "like your father." Lucky for him he wouldn't have to explain in what way he shared similarities with Arthur; the boy had swum off to join his dolphin friend again.

Peter's fringe floated upward when he peered into a small crevice for larger seashells. Little bubbles escaped his nostrils as he released his air little by little. It always intrigued him, his strange ability to stay underwater for unusually long periods of time. How was that even possible? Ah, well, he reached out for a pretty purple sea conch with white and pink stripes, placing it into his satchel. A small group of fish swam by him, one pausing to give him a cheerful greeting. And that was another thing, how on earth was he capable of speaking and understanding what these animals were saying? 'Am I really that much of a freak,' he thought sadly to himself.

Not wanting to depress himself further, Peter decided to continue his search for seashells. He wasn't sure when he'd get another chance to stay out this late in the sea. The dolphin came back with another sea conch and deposited in the satchel before going back out in search for more.

The young prince released a few more air bubbles as he continued to swim when he swam past a small crevice. Light reflecting from something within it caught his eye, making him swim back. 'What is that?' He squinted his blue eyes to get a better look. Sure enough, the light rays made whatever was down there glisten once again. With a grin, Peter dove deeper to retrieve it. Usually when he dove into small grottos like these it would worry Rodrich but he was son of a hero which made him a hero too. And heroes weren't afraid of grottos.

Pulling the shell from the sand, Peter noticed two things. The first, it was made out of gold. The second, it wasn't truly a shell but a locket of some sort given that it was attached to a gold chain.

* * *

Somewhere a north of the palace, purple light bounced off the icy walls of a cavern. Inside disgruntled mutters were heard as two figures tried to undo what was done while a merman with short blonde hair and a little red hat chuckled in amusement at his comrade's misfortune. These moments when Natalya would inflict pain onto Damien in effort to revert him to his normal size were what reminded Vladimir and his friend, Milen, that sticking around with the two most wanted merfolk in the sea was worth it. Vladimir's small white fang became more noticeable as his smirk grew wider with Damien's groan of pain.

The small dark haired merman backed away from the sea witch, "I don't want to do this anymore, Nat." Damien looked at her with large grey eyes in hopes to himself look cuter and appeal to her maternal-

"Come here you little shit," hissed Natalya as she looked through Ivan's spell books then at the vial in her hand, "I think I've figured it out this time."

"Maternal instinct my ass," muttered the chibified merman bitterly as he hesitantly came closer to his mistress and her cauldron. "And that's what you said last time! My little body was sore for a week."

"Shut up and hold still." Natalya calculated the angle her magic would need to be aimed in for it to hit Damien. "Pray that this works, you're useless to me otherwise.

Curling into himself Damien screwed his eyes tightly, "Oh…this is gonna hurt."

Vladimir watched gleefully as his mistress chanted over the cauldron and tossed in the vile in her hand. Twirling over the cauldron she aimed a heated purple beam at her target. His scarlet eyes widened when he saw that it was actually working and Damien was getting bigger and bigger.

"Yes," cried Natalya in victory as she too watched Damien grow in size. "I did it! I did it! I did-" Her victory was short lived when the merman suddenly shrunk down to a shrimp. The blonde mermaid ignored the sniggers behind her and reached out for more vials, each on tossed into the cauldron resulted in more disastrous results on Damien's behalf. Vladimir couldn't help himself any longer and he rolled over in tears of laughter at the last outcome.

Milen returned from his watch and stared at Damien's new look, a small grin overtook him at the sight. His body had been squished out into that of a strange fish and his arms had been replaced with lobster claws…and he only had one eye. Milen leaned on Vladimir and brought his arms over his stomach in laughter.

Too disappointed to inflict pain on her other two minions, Natalya let herself drop onto her bed in misery. "It's no use, the power of the damn Trident is just too strong for me to overcome," she grumbled into her arms. "And I just used up the last of the barnacle salve."

The two mermen stopped laughing and glared at their mistress. It had taken them all month to cultivate the ingredients necessary to make it. Damien crossed his stubby arms around his chest, "Hmph, I bet Natasha could've done it."

The blond mermaid frigidly rose her face from her arms, her tail twitching with annoyance. A dark blue eye narrowed in his direction, "What…was that you said?"

"Nothing, I'm just sayin' that-" Damien ducked when his angered mistress threw a jar of plankton at his head. "Jeez, Nat. What the hell?!"

"Stop comparing me to her! That's all Ivan ever did was compare me to that cow…" Natalya reached out for her starfish jar and pulled one out, "It was always, 'Natasha this' or 'Natasha that' or 'Natalya why can't you be more like our Big Sister, Natasha?!" She threw the poor starfish at a picture of her sister, hitting her right in the forehead. Natasha's pleasant smile seemingly mocked Natalya's failure and made the later growl in frustration.

Damien rolled his eyes and dared to come closer to Natalya, "It's not her fault that I'm like this, Nat. She wasn't the one that got me chibified, it's yours!"

Natalya gasped, "Is not!"

"Is too! And you know what else is your fault? The fact that we've had to hide out here for twelve frost bitten years-"

"No, it isn't!"

Vladimir leaned over to his black haired friend and whispered, "_Their_ fault we can never show our faces in polite society again." Milen chuckled before stepping in to keep his mistress from causing too much bodily harm to the man child merman.

"Um, Miss Natasha, ma'am?" Milen hesitantly reached out to touch the mermaid's shoulder. "I have something that might interest you."

"What?" Natalya turned around but didn't release Damien from the choke hold she had him in, her other hand was pulling at his chubby cheek.

Milen pulled out a bubble from his bag and placed it in the cauldron. A larger one rose from it with an image of Peter sitting on top of a rock with Rodrich on his shoulder. They were both looking at the dirty golden shell in the boy's hands. "I came straight home after I saw him pull it out, ma'am," said Milen shyly. "Figured you would want to know that he found it."

His friend swam over to peer over Milen's shoulder, "Found what?"

"The locket," exclaimed Natalya and Damien at the same time. They shared a giggle and in a rare moment of affection, the mermaid pulled the chibi to her chest. Twirling in a dance, Natalya's eye brightened, "This is perfect, boys! When Arthur's innocent little son uncovers the secret of that locket, he's going to have a lot of questions. And who's going to be there will _all_ the answers?"

Damien chuckled and nuzzled against his mermaid's neck, "We will."

"Exactly! He's going to be the perfect tool for Arthur's undoing. And Arthur's undoing will lead to Robert scrambling to do anything to make him happy again which will lead to _his_ undoing."

"Then I'll be big again!"

Natalya let go of Damien and swam towards the picture of Natasha and Ivan. "Finally, I'll do something my sister never could."

"Really, really, big!" Vladimir and Milen exchanged glances at Damien's excitement.

"Give Ivan total domination of the sea!" The mermaid lightly touched Ivan's eye, hidden behind her eye patch. She felt stubby arms wrap themselves around her waist and for once she welcomed it. This was just the sign she was waiting for to make her move. Pulling Damien around to face her she danced around her cavern gleefully all while the cogs in her brain reeled, plotting for the perfect moment to send out her bait. Peter would be hers by tonight. She'd make sure of it.

* * *

Back at the waters by the palace, Peter played with the unique shell he found in the small grotto. The sun was starting to set, making his slight tan glow and his blonde hair reflect gold. His clothes were almost dry and the wind sent a shiver down his spine.

"Peter, please." Rodrich ran a claw down his face. If your father ever found that you'd been swimming out here…"

"I know, I know, papa would flip." Peter tucked the shell into his satchel before jumping back into the water. The splash fell onto both the blue crab and sleeping Francis. When the boy resurfaced he leaned back so that he could float on his back, "Hey, Rodrich? What does papa have against the ocean anyway? Daddy gets to go out every now and again and so do Uncle Mattie and Uncle Gilbert." He stopped his back butterfly and leaned on the rock again to overlook the sea. "I mean how can there be anything wrong with something so…wonderful?"

Rodrich had a momentarily lapse of Déjà vu. '_How can a world that makes such wonderful things…be so bad?_' Arthur's teenaged voice rang through his mind. The apple hadn't fallen too far from the tree with this one and this is what the merman had been wary of. Peter's giggle broke through Rodrich's thoughts. He turned to face his charge when Peter motioned him to come closer for a secret.

"You know what?" Rodrich offered him an encouraging smile when he saw Peter flush with glee as if he was going to share a guilty pleasure. "Sometimes I even pretend," the young boy cupped his hand on the side of his mouth and whispered, "that I have, FINS!" The merman's smile dropped and his heart clenched at the thought. Oh Poseidon help him.

Peter sighed sadly and leaned on a rock again, facing his home and the wall, "I wish I could tell my papa and daddy how I feel. But I don't think they'll ever understand."

"What won't they understand?" Rodrich gasped at the familiar voice and dove into the water and into Peter's satchel. Peter turned around slowly to face his Uncle Gilbert who was inside a row boat and looking at him with a raised eye brow. Francis flew to sit on his friend's shoulder.

"I-uh…hi, Uncle Gil. What are you doing out here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing. What are _you_ doing out here? And more importantly," the albino reached over to pull in his little prince into the boat, "who were you talking to?"

"Umm…" Peter looked over to Francis, "no one really. Just him and…and a crab." He looked away from his uncle's piercing red eyes in embarrassment.

"Hey, now. Don't be embarrassed by that. I talk to Gilbird and this one all the time. And your dad talks to his cat and your uncle Mattie talks to his bear. Ain't no shame in it." Gilbert started to row them back to the palace. "Sometimes they make very good listeners you know. Say, did you say you were talking to a crab?"

"Yes…"

"Ha! Think you can come into the kitchen and help me find this little blue crab? The little shi-er…I mean the little nasty keeps coming in there and I swear I think he does it so that Elizabeta smacks me with that pan of hers."

Peter bit his lip to keep in a laugh. He knew that Rodrich enjoyed tormenting his uncle Gilbert but chose not to say anything on the matter. "Sure."

"And another thing, let's keep this between us ok? Else your aunt Liz is going to have a party with me and her pan."

"Party. Oh, party!" Peter suddenly reached out for Gilbert's shirt and urged him to paddle faster, "My papa's going to kill me if I don't get back in time!"

"Don't worry, kid. Uncle Awesome is going to sneak you in this one time but promise me that you won't come back out here, ok? I don't like keeping secrets from your parents." Gilbert pulled the row boat onto the shore and opened the side door, letting both Peter and himself in before locking it back up. The albino helped his young prince over the ledge of an open window, "See you in a few, kiddo."

"Ok. Thank you so much, Uncle Gil!"

"Any time, squirt." Gilbert made sure that Peter was safely over the ledge before turning around to go back via the servant entrance. "Oh, A-Arthur? What are you doing out here?"

"I'm still looking for my son. He isn't out here is he?" Arthur was dressed in his dark blue formal clothes with white pants tucked into polished black boots. His green eyes darted to Gilbert's bag, "How was your visit with Ludwig? Did he bring anything for me?"

"Awesome and yeah he did. You have some letters from your brothers and David sent you this for Peter." The albino handed over the goods. "I'm going to go take a quick shower and get that cake ready."

"Ok, thank you. And if you see Peter, please tell him that I'm looking for him."

"Don't worry, Artie. I'm sure he's already getting ready as we speak."

Peter came out from his hiding spot after Elizabeta walked past him with her arm looped through her uncle Magyar. The little blonde scurried past his guests as stealthily as he could. Unfortunately, in his desire not to be caught, he didn't pay attention to where he was going and he bumped into a person. A young person. Oh, dear… Peter shyly turned around and faced the trio that would tease him constantly at school.

"Oh, Your…Your Highness," exclaimed Madeline as she turned around. She looked at the trembling prince analytically through her glasses. The young girl tossed her blond braid over her shoulder and crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry," stammered Peter bashfully, realizing all too well that he was highly indecent at the moment. Still, he put his best smile and hid his bag of seashells behind his back, "I-I uh, I better go." Chuckling he added as an afterthought, "Can't go to the party with out shoes!"

"Right." Madeline's gloved fingers felt in her hair to make sure her pins were still in placed before turning her attention to her two friends. "If you ask me, he's acting a little stranger than usual."

"Indeed," echoed Borris. He fixed his cuffs and sniffed, "I heard that he actually talks to fish."

"Well, who else is he going to talk to," added Jasper. The stout boy chuckled to himself, "I mean the only reason half of these guests showed up is because of his blue blood. And even that is questionable. I mean who has two dads? You've got to wonder what happened to his mother."

"Maybe his dad with the freaky eye brows_ is_ his mother," said Madeline. "It'll certainly explain where he got his." The trio shared a laugh, unaware that their prince had heard everything from around the corner. He let his shoulders droop sadly and continued his trudge up the stairs to his room.

"It's not polite at all to speak in such a matter." The group hushed and turned around to see Matthew, dressed regally in red. His crown sat on his head and his bear stood by his feet. He knew better than to glare but he knew that his violet eyes were staring coldly down at the three gossiping teenagers. "Not at all becoming of a lady and gentlemen."

"Y-yes, Your Majesty," whispered the young lady with a bow. "Forgive us."

"See, that it doesn't happen again. There are others less forgiving of such gossip." Matthew turned to walk away but paused half step to look over his shoulder, "By, the way. My brother in law is in fact a man and my brother finds his eyebrows adorable."

* * *

**I'm sorry for such a long wait. I had finals this week but now that I'm over and done with the semester I'm free to write. First things first: Thank you so much to every one who has added this story to their favorites list and are following. It really makes me feel good to see that you guys are enjoying the story. The next chapter will be up by this weekend, I'm already working on it. Ah! Also, sometimes I will probably post chapters up for Love Has No Recipe before this but I'll try not to. That one is one of those stories that if I have a moment of inspiration, I'll have to jot it down else I'll forget T_T But like I said, I have a long winter break so both will be getting my love. And speaking of love...I would LOVE it if you guys checked that other story out. It gets hits but no reviews T_T. I'm really excited about it but I'd like some feedback but don't worry if you guys can't get to it or aren't interested. lol, just figured I'd give it a shot.  
**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**ps- Any guesses where David's story came from?**

**Until Next Time~**

**VivaAmerica: I literally fangirled when I read that you fangirled/ recognized the reference. lol, I was watching that movie with my boyfriend and figured, why not? The music in it is amazing. Thanks for the review! ^_^**

**YaoiFanGirl9211998: I'm glad you do =3 I was thinking about giving him powers too. Don't worry, I'll try and figure out a way to incorporate it in there.**

**aycee-san: Your comment made me smile ^_^ Don't worry, there is no such thing as getting carried away lol thanks for the review!  
**

**xXxEmeraldBluexXx: Thank you for wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you had a nice one too. I also hope that you enjoyed this chapter =3 The next one will be posted sometime by the end of this weekend to make up for such a late update.**

**Marshal Thompson: That's sweet of you to say ^.^ Thank you! I hope you had a good Thanks giving as well. **

**: Sorry T_T I had a final in Anatomy too, hope you did great on it!**

**zoewinter1: lol, yup!**


	4. Guests Can Be Cruel

**A brief mention of:**

**Taiwan/Sakura**

**Seychelles/ Cora**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Characters of Hetalia nor do I own the Songs from Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea.**

Arthur sat on a bench closest to the wall with his small pile of correspondence. Max and Oliver curled on either side of him as he read through the letters his brothers sent him. It hadn't taken long for him to allow them to contact him, only a year after they had built the wall. It wasn't much but I did quell the overwhelming homesickness he sometimes suffered. "Isn't it ironic, little ones," he asked his felines before petting them both gently on their heads. "The one thing I hated in my youth my heart now longs for."

The green eyed prince pulled his half of the sea shell from under his shirt and ran a gloved finger along the side. He felt it vibrate in his hand. A few seconds later it vibrated again only this time it also hummed softly in response. Arthur smiled and leaned against the wall, "I miss you, too, Feli. I miss all you guys back home." He stood up from his bench to make his way to the small pool of water that entered from the gated lower half of the wall. Peeling off his gloves, Arthur stuck his hands inside the cool water and closed his eyes. If he tried hard enough, he could pretend that he was underwater again and-

"Papa?" Startled, Arthur fell back on his bottom. He cast an embarrassed look above him towards his son's room. "What are you doing?"

"Uh-erm, n-nothing, love," cried the older blonde. "I'll be right up to help you finish get ready. Give me a moment."

Peter panicked when he realized that his soiled clothes were still in the open. Moving quickly, he shoved them as deep into the hamper as he could and hid his bag of shells under his bed. The boy buttoned the rest of his white uniform and searched for his boots. He heard his father's footsteps from outside his bedroom door. Oh! Taking a light blue sash, Peter tied it across his body once then around his waist another time, much like how he'd seen his dads wear theirs. Plucking one of his crowns from the wardrobe, he placed it haphazardly on his head just as Arthur entered the room. "I'm ready!"

Arthur's bushy eye brows rose to his fringe in amusement when he took in at what his son considered 'ready'. Peter, though dressed perfectly, still needed to brush his hair and lace his boots. Chuckling, he stepped further inside and removed the boy's crown in order to smooth out his hair with a brush. "Almost, my dear boy, but remember, a gentleman always brushes his hair and makes sure his boots are properly laced."

"Yes, papa." Peter watched his dad through the mirror as the man ran the brush over his ahoge in attempt to get it to stay down. He sighed, "Papa, just put the brush down. It's hopeless."

"None sense, love. Just a bit of gel and...there!" Arthur looked proudly at his handiwork but the unruly curl his son had inherited from his father sprung back up with a mocking boing.

"So, we're having a bad hair day, huh." They turned around to see that Alfred was grinning at the door, his own ahoge standing proudly at end.

Arthur rolled his eyes at his husband and bent over to tie his son's boots, "If we were, you wouldn't be helping, would you." He cast a mischievous glance to Alfred, biting his lip in effort to keep a straight face.

"I'm just saying, babe." The blue eyed man leaned against the door frame, "Anyway, I'm just here to let you guys know that there's a lot of people downstairs…"

"Oh, we'll right down, dear. Just give us two minutes."

Alfred nodded with a chuckle and closed the door, "Right, two…now where have I heard that before?" The blonde prince looked across the hall where his brother was trying to coax his own husband out of their bedroom.

"Come on, Gil," pleaded Matthew through the door. "I just scared a couple of kids and I-"

"I'll be right out, Birdie," called Gilbert from inside the room. "Two minutes! It's all I need to look awesome."

"So that's where," said Alfred with a grin.

Back inside Peter's room, Arthur had managed to groom the rest of his son's hair to look presentable. Carefully, he placed his crown onto his head so to not mess it up. "Papa?"

"Hmm?"

"My eyebrows are weird," said Peter with a pout and a frown.

Arthur looked at his son's reflection and gave a soft smile. He reached over to smooth out his facial features, "Well, when you're frowning like that, then yes. Your eyebrows do look a little funny."

"It's not that. They're all…bushy."

"Son, look at me. _My_ eyebrows are bushy. Yours only does it in the front; thank goodness you inherited your father's as well towards the end." Arthur hugged his son to his chest, "At any rate, you look very handsome."

Peter sighed, "Do I _have_ to do this? Everyone thinks I'm...weird."

"Oh, darling, you'll be just fine." The older blonde placed a kiss on top of his son's head, "Everyone has problems fitting in at this age." Arthur gave a breathy chuckle at remembering how he tended to be the oddball out of his family and even when he came to the surface. _Especially_ when he came to the surface, "I know I did. I was a regular fish out of water."

"You? No way!" The younger blonde stepped out of his father's embrace and walked to the balcony, "But you're such a perfect gentleman, papa. Everyone likes you." He folded his arms onto the rail and rested his face in them. He didn't want to ask how he'd managed to do that when he had a man for a spouse. Not everyone liked him at school…mostly because he was a little bit awkward and had a habit of talking to the inhabitants of the class aquarium and partly because he had two men for parents.

Peter leaned into Arthur's chest when he felt his dad pull him in for another embrace. He didn't pay too much attention to that. After all, how many of those kids could say that their fathers doted upon them as much as his papa and dad did. Not to mention that his uncle was king and _he_ had a husband as well. Shaking his head, Peter looked up to meet his papa's green eyes, "I'm just afraid that'll I'll make a fool out of myself."

"Love, this _isn't_ just about the party, is it?" Arthur had received a letter earlier in the week from Peter's instructor saying that he'd been a victim of teasing from the other students. Cora was a sweet young woman who had arrived to the kingdom from Seychelles and had instantly taken a liking to Peter. A part of Arthur suspected that she was a mermaid because of the mark on the base of her neck but if she was, she kept that a secret to herself. A secret that Lukas later revealed in a letter but Arthur and Alfred still feigned ignorance on the subject. The sea prince had been waiting for Peter to inform him of the teasing but the boy hadn't.

Placing a hand on the younger's shoulder he gently turned him around so that they could face each other. "You know, son, if there's something you want to tell me, I'm always here to listen." He smiled at his son and poked him in the belly, "You can tell me anything."

Peter giggled and smoothed his uniform down, "Ok, Papa!" Biting his lip, he looked out to the sea again. "This is going to sound a little weird and sort of impossible, now don't freak." Arthur raised an amused eyebrow and waited for his son to continue. "But what I dream about more than anything in the whole world is-"

"How's it coming, guys?" Alfred knocked on the glass door of the balcony before joining his family outside. He blinked at his son, the perfect combination of himself and his little merman, and smiled. "You look very handsome, Pete."

Arthur chuckled, "He's right. Now come on." The sea prince gently nudged his son forward and looped his arm through Alfred's waiting arm, "We'll talk later, son. You're going to have a wonderful time at the party. I'm sure of it."

Downstairs, all the guests were enjoying themselves. Some were dancing while others helped themselves to the food and wine. Elizabeta fretted over the fact that the flowers hadn't been properly arranged but it was mostly to keep her uncle out of her way. It wasn't that she didn't like him or anything it was just that he was starting to ask for something, she wasn't sure she could give. The Hungarian was busying herself on one arrangement when she felt a tap on her shoulder. 'If I ignore him, he'll go away.'

"Elizabeta, I know you know I'm here."

'Damn.'

"Dear, I only want what any father would want. Well, I'm not your father but I did raise you as my own. It's not uncommon that I would like to see you happily married and with children of your own." Magyar gently turned his niece to face him, "It's not very decent for someone of your social standing to be working here as a common maid."

"I'm not a house maid, uncle," replied Elizabeta with a frown. "I'm Chief of Staff and it's not like they treat me badly. I'm practically family here. And, hey, Gilbert and Ludwig are from our same circle, too! I don't see you fretting about them."

"They're happily married already. There isn't a reason for me to fret." Elizabeta wondered if it would be ok to tell her uncle that she was already seeing someone. Sure that someone happened to spend most of the day in crab form. Sure the only time they really got a chance to be together was during the night after Peter had been tucked in. But how would he react to the fact that her boyfriend was a merman? Where was he anyway? Elizabeta eyed the stuffed crab trays, sighing in relief that they were all red. She was spared having to respond when the orchestra stopped playing in order for Matthew to announce that Alfred, Arthur and Peter were going to enter the room.

Guests politely bowed before older twin and his husband and waited for Peter to descend the stairs. The young prince bit his lip when he felt all eyes were on him. "It's ok, old chap," he murmured to himself as he made his way slowly down the stairs. "I can do this. Papa said I could." Peter caught his dad wink at him as he wrapped an arm around his papa's waist.

Matthew reached out to hug his nephew, "Happy birthday, Peter."

"Thank you, Uncle Mattie." Peter felt a slight poke on his shoulder tassels and realized that he had accidently strapped Roderich onto his shoulder with his sash. He was about to help his little friend out when he felt another poke on his person. This time it was a bashful girl who he recognized as a classmate who didn't tease him. "Oh, hello."

"Hello, Your Highness." Cindy poked her fingers together, a habit Peter had known she did when annoyed. Was she annoyed with him? Peter looked at his fathers for assistance but they shook their heads and motioned for him to ask her for a dance.

"W-would you like to dance with me," asked the young prince, his hand outstretched in invitation.

"Oh, yes! I mean," Cindy darted her dark eyes to her parents and saw that the scowled at her unladylike response. Taking a deep breath she curtseyed before taking his hand in hers, "I would be honored, my prince."

Arthur watched as his son led his partner onto the dance floor and crossed his fingers that everything would go smoothly. His brother in law moved to stand next to him while Kumajirou dropped himself next to his master. The three royals and their guests watched their little prince rigidly glide with the young woman in his arms.

"Are you ok," whispered Cindy as quietly as she could.

"I'm fine." Peter looked down to his feet to make sure he wouldn't step on her toes. He had a bad habit of doing that when practicing with Elizabeta. See, yet another reason why he would love to have fins. With fins, the hazard that came with dancing, or anything that involved legs for that matter, were drastically reduced. "If I had fins, then I wouldn't have to worry about stepping on anybody's toes," he muttered to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing. I was just…talking to myself."

"Why would you do that when you have me right here?"

"Right, sorry." Peter paused to twirl the brunette before leading her again to the music. "A-are you enjoying yourself?"

"I am, thank you." She pursed her pink lips in thought before adding, "You know, I don't think you're a freak."

"Well, that's a relief."

"No, I'm serious. Everyone at school thinks you're strange but I don't think so. I mean no one _really_ talks to fish. And if they do then it's probably because they aren't loved enough at home," said when she was twirled. When Peter brought her back in she was met with a confused scowl.

"What are you talking about? I'm loved plenty, here."

"Well, yeah. But I mean you don't have a mother's touch in your life. Prince Arthur is a nice man and all but there's only so much a father can do for his son." Cindy looked over to her female classmates in the sea of guests, most looking at her in jealousy. "My mother said that sometimes a proper wife could make up for that." She turned back to Peter, "She also said that _I_ would make a beautiful wife someday."

The song ended as soon as she said that and Peter quickly took a step away from her. "I don't care if I don't have a mother. Prince Arthur is a great papa," he said as politely as he could given the seed of annoyance blooming in his gut. The teasing about him and fish was one thing but he drew the line when it came to his fathers, even if he didn't always see eye to eye with them when it came to his favorite past time. Peter turned to walk away but before he did, he shot back, "And thank you but no thank you. I'd sooner marry another guy before I'd marry girl like you." Roderich once told him that even the mildest of sea life could attack you, no matter how cute they looked, particularly sting rays. Suppose the same could be said about humans.

Cindy quickly looked over to her parents, her father was busy talking to another guest but her mother motioned for her to go after the young prince. Narrowing her eyes with determination she reached out to grab his shoulder, "Now, see here-"

Remember where we left Roderich? The poor merman had gotten disoriented from all the spinning and dancing. He'd tried to find a way out of his binds, using his claws to naw at the cloth. How unfortunate that Cindy reached out for that particular shoulder, placing her index finger snugly in a blue claw, at the very moment when Roderich would snap them shut for the final cut.

The girl's horrified screams brought the party and the music, which had started up again, to a screeching halt. She drew her hand away taking Roderich along with it.

"Now, what-" Peter's blue eyes widened when he saw that his friend was clinging on to Cindy's finger for dear life as the girl tried her hardest to shake him off. In her panic she tumbled over the refreshment table, staining her pink dress red with punch. As for the blue crab well, as he went soaring across the air, frightening memories of a familiar decent ran before his eyes. Memories that involved a certain albino chef's pot…much like these new memories were going to involve that same albino's cake. Oh sweet starfish!

Letting out his own scream, Roderich closed his eyes and sent Elizabeta a final 'I love you, dear' before colliding the center of the cake, effectively showering Peter and Gilbert with vanilla and chocolate bread and icing. Popping out of the remnants of the once glorious cake, Roderich blew out the candle on his head. "That's it," he cried in exasperation, "I'm telling Bobby I quit!"

"Oh, no!" Peter ran towards his little friend and knelt so that he could check him for injury, "I'm so sorry."

Cindy got up with assistance from Jasper. Thinking that he was speaking to her, she sniffed indignantly, "Well I should say-"

But the young prince wasn't even looking at her. Instead he focused his attention on helping, the little blue crab get rid of the icing, "Are you ok, Roderich?"

"So." Realizing that what her classmates gossiped about was true, Cindy angrily pulled her arm away from Jasper and left in a huff.

Jasper was joined by Boris and Madeline, the latter speaking loudly in exaggerated curiosity, "Who_ is_ he talking to?"

Boris giggled cruelly, "He's talking to a crab!" His giggles were contagious and soon everyone at the party found themselves laughing at the prince's misfortune with the exception of a few parents who looked in horror at their King and Princes. Matthew and Alfred looked livid while Arthur…well he looked downright murderous.

Gilbert wiped the cake off his face and looked around curiously. His red eyes narrowed when he saw what ruined his masterpiece, "You!"

The merman felt those heated eyes on his back but he turned around anyway in hopes that it was Elizabeta who perhaps would be a tad annoyed at him for ruining the cake. But as his luck would have it, it wasn't his girlfriend…it was _him_. And this time he probably wouldn't enjoy riling him up as he usually did every now and again in the kitchen. When he saw that Gilbert had pulled out a cleaver out of seemingly nowhere, Roderich let out another scream and jumped out of the way as the albino moved to chop him in half.

"Come back here, y-you bast-er- saboteur!" Gilbert ignored the fact that he wasn't in his kitchen, as well as the fact that he had used one of the words Francis taught him, and chased after the blue fiend that haunted his culinary domain. "You're going into the pot as soon as I catch you, you little shit!"

"No! Wait, Gilbert," pleaded Roderich as he ran across tables, the albino hot on his heels. "I'm old, I'm not tender anymore!" He screamed again and fell onto the ground, running towards where he thought he saw his love. She would save him for sure!

All around them, guests were laughing, each now completely delighted that their parents had forced them to attend the prince's birthday celebration. This party was proving to be very entertaining indeed. Matthew massaged the bridge of his nose to ward off the impending headache. His husband wasn't helping matters in chasing after that poor crab and he could tell that his brother and brother in law were reaching their breaking point. Beside him, his pet bear looked agitated by all the cruel laughter and pawed at his leg seemingly for permission to silence them.

Peter cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. He knew that his uncle's tactics weren't the cause of all this mockery but…it wasn't exactly helping his case either. 'Heroes don't cry,' he chanted to himself when he felt his lip tremble and the familiar sting in his eyes. 'Heroes don't- did the laughter just increase?' Looking around him, Peter felt himself get dizzy from everyone pointing at him and laughing. Some had their arms wrapped around their stomachs while others wiped at their eyes. He could see a few parents try and calm their children but it wasn't working.

The young prince hugged himself for comfort; his papa and dad were too far away. But the mockery was getting to be too much so instead he ran back towards the stairs. Matthew, Alfred and Arthur reached out for him but he ran right past them.

Arthur turned around to the sea of laughter, his bushy eyebrows furrowed in cold anger before turning to his brother in law and husband, "I want them out of our home. I want them out, now." He didn't bother to give his farewell to the guests, instead choosing to walk out of the hall to go find his son.

"Dude," muttered Alfred to his brother. "This isn't cool, say something."

"I want to, Al, but they won't hear me over this." Despite Matthew being king, Alfred was the one who would do everything for him. After all, he was still hoping to join the sea life with his small family one day and to go back and forth between kings would only confuse and upset their subjects. The younger twin was still shy in nature but with his brother and family behind him he faced his duties with as much nobility his father did before him.

"Mattie, you've got a freaking bear."

"Uhhuh…" Matthew looked at Kumajirou in confusion, "So?"

"So, use him!"

"Right. Kumajirou?" He made a motion to his polar bear that the creature recognized as a command to speak. Standing to his full height, the bear let out a piercing roar just as Elizabeta threw the melted ice in the silver ice pail at Gilbert.

"Jeez, woman!

"Quiet," hissed Elizabeta, catching Roderich as he jumped into her waiting arms. "I'm already seeing someone, Uncle." Turning to her uncle she held the crab by its shell, "This guy." Pulling Gilbert by the ear and lacing her free arm through Magyar's she lead them out into the kitchen, leaving behind bewildered guests to face the twin's wrath alone.

* * *

Arthur broke into a jog when he was out of sight. Rushing down the hall, he followed his son's sobs. 'My poor baby,' he thought to himself sadly. 'What's wrong with children these days! Their parents never gave us such a hard time before.' Then again their parents knew what Arthur was and where he came from. Alfred and the others hadn't been allowed to speak of Leviathan so they let others assume how Peter came to be. Not that it was really there business to start with.

The sea prince gently knocked on his son's door before letting himself in. Peter had stripped down to his undershirt and had on a pair of blue pants that reached his ankles. He was lying face down on his bed, clutching tightly to Max while Oliver sat near him, a paw on the boy's head. Arthur sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through his son's hair, "My little love," he murmured. "I'm so sorry about tonight." His heart clenched with sadness when Peter let out a heartbreaking sob and let go of his dad's cat so that he could latch his arms around his father's waist.

Arthur laid next to his son and allowed Peter to cry into his chest, "Baby mine, don't you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine." The little blonde gave a shuddering breath and tightened his arms around his father. "Little one when you play, pay no heed to what they say. Let your eyes sparkle and shine, never a tear, baby of mine." Peter's tears were beginning to slow as his father's soothing voice continued to sing to him. "If they knew sweet little you, they'd end up loving you too. All those same people who scold you, what they'd give just for the right to hold you."

Arthur gently lifted his son's face so that they could meet eyes, "You're so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine." He placed a tender kiss on Peter's head and cuddled him close.

"Papa," mumbled Peter after calming down enough to speak what had been troubling him as of late, "a-am I adopted?"

"What? No, why-"

"But I must be, else why am I such a freak?"

"Son, you are _not_ a freak."

"Yes, I _am_, papa! I'm not like you or daddy I'm not…normal!"

"Love, just because your dad and I are both men doesn't make you a freak."

"It's not that. I don't care about that, Sakura has two dads, too and no one picks on her. She used to talk to me before she went on that trip with her daddies to Greece." Peter rolled out of his father's grasp to lay on his side. The glimmer of the golden seashell he found that afternoon drew his hand towards it. Picking it up he continued, "It's the fact that I don't fit in, no matter how hard I try. I'm the prince of disaster!

Arthur exhaled slowly as he sat back up on the edge of the bed. His mind went back to when Robert or Christian, sometimes even Kyle, would comfort him when the twins and David would tease him. "Being a teenager is hard," he started slowly, trying to figure out where he was going with this. "All kids your age feel…awkward. Those little…"

Peter was only half listening to his papa. He noticed that there was some writing on the shell when his thumb wiped away at the sand. Furrowing his brow in curiosity, the young blonde gently cleaned the rest of it, gasping when he saw _Dorian_ embossed into the precious metal. Enticed by the tiny knob that revealed itself from under all the muck, Peter pressed it. The shell opened with a click, releasing a bubble of water encasing an underwater city. Two miniature twin mermen chased each other playfully while three others watched with gleeful grins; they turned to face Peter and offered a wave before chasing each other again.

The young prince vaguely noticed that his dad had stopped talking and let out a sudden gasp. He was too enthralled by what he was seeing and hearing. "I know that song," he said excitedly. "I remember hearing it…but where?" He tried to place it but decided to dwell on it later. "Papa, this is Atlantica, isn't it? I knew it was real. And look there's merpeople and everything!" Frowning in confusion he turned to his frozen father, "Papa? I thought you said that Atlantica was nothing but an old fish tale?"

Too shocked from seeing a relic from the past, Arthur reached out to pull the locket from his son's hands, closing it shut while he was at it. It was too surreal. All that work he put into keeping Peter away from the sea for not. But perhaps he was jumping to conclusions. Maybe it washed into their little pool. He had to make sure so, looking over to his son, he asked, though he feared the answer.

Peter himself felt rather fearful as to how to answer the question but he knew better than to lie. The young prince curled his legs in bashfully, "I-er…" meeting his father's green eyes, he figured that perhaps it wouldn't be in his interest to be _completely_ honest. "I found it."

"You went over the wall, didn't you?"

Or perhaps it was. "Actually, I went under it. I hate that stupid wall."

"Son, you_ know_ you're not allowed into the sea!" Gods help him. If Peter went out there then that meant that Natalya and Damien had more than likely caught his scent and now had a general idea of where they were. Blast!

"Why?"

"Huh?" Arthur was pulled out of his thoughts when Peter stood up on his bed grabbed the locket from his father's grasp.

"And why does this thing have my name on it?"

He should just tell the truth. This was more than a perfect opportunity but he would have to proceed carefully. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, his eyes darted between the locket and his son, "Peter, listen to me…"

Furrowing his brow further, took a step further on his bed, "You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"

"I-" he lost his courage. He couldn't do it, not without Alfred. Arthur bit his lip and resorted to something he knew he was going to regret. "Peter, you have to understand. You can't just go and disobey me like that! I don't ever want you to go back out there again."

"That's not fair, Papa!"

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, son but this is for you own good. It's dangerous in the sea."

Tears welled angrily in Peter's eyes. "How would you know? You've never even been in it!"

Grabbing his sailor shirt and hat in the hand that wasn't holding the locket he dashed out of his room when Alfred opened the door to come in.

"Wait, Peter!" Arthur was about to chase after his son but decided that the boy need some space. Poseidon knew he always needed some after getting into arguments with Robert. Robert. The sea prince dropped himself on the bed, his face in his hands.

"Babe?" Placing an arm around his husband, Alfred sat down next to the disgruntled blonde. "Are you ok?"

"I just became what I never thought I'd become."

"What's that?"

"My brother." Arthur groaned and leaned on Alfred's shoulder. "I've made a huge mistake in keeping him from the sea."

"Maybe it's time to tell him the truth; we knew we'd have to someday."

"I know."

"Hey," Alfred reached over to lift his husband's chin, thumb running over his lower lip. "It's going to be ok. Peter is a great kid, I'm sure he's going to understand why we've kept him from the water."

Blushing in spite of himself, Arthur smiled, "You're right."

"Come on, we'll tell him together." Both princes got up and hand in hand, they went to search for their son.

* * *

**Sorry it's a bit late but it's still technically the weekend =3 I tried to get it out earlier but the Mr. wanted to go get our Christmas tree. Now my house smells like pine ^_^ I love that smell! A huge thanks to those who have added this story to their favorites and to their follow list! Makes me happy to see it, you have no idea. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Have a good Monday!  
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**Until Next Time~**

**ps- I don't own the song Baby Mine.**

**VivaAmerica: Thanks! I wanted to include it in the story but wasn't sure how, a story for the next generation was sorta of a last minute thing but I'm glad it worked. Yeah, that movie is pretty awesome. It's unfortunate that it's not as popular as the others T_T Thank you for the review!  
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**aycee-san: Yup yup, lol ^_^ And yeah, when I watched the movie and that part where the kids are mean to Melody, I got a bit sad when she got sad. So I figured Peter could use someone to have his back and who else than his awesome Uncle =3**

**zoewinter1: And there he goes again T_T**

**Marshal Thompson: Your confidence gives _me_ confidence that this story will come out ok, lol. My biggest fear, like with all my stories, is failing my readers.  
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**pastaaddict: ****Thank you for the review ^_^ I'm glad that I'll be able to surprise you lol. Also, thank you for reviewing Love Has No Recipe. I'm working on the next chapter for that now =3  
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**Sandra DeNite: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked The Little Merman too. I hope you enjoyed the chapter =3**


	5. Light Blue Scales

**Wy/Sarah: 7**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Characters of Hetalia nor do I own the Songs from Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea**

Elizabeta would never admit that she was pouting, nor would she admit that she was acting like one of those spoiled aristocratic girls that she moved away from home to avoid. But honestly! Her uncle Magyar was being highly unreasonable.

"Are you even listening to me, young lady?" Magyar crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently, "When were you going to tell me you were dating?"

"I wasn't completely sure how to tell you or if I even could."

"Does that crab have you threatened? Cause if he does, I swear to God, Lizzy. I'll deep fry him myself."

"_No_, uncle." A part of her was surprised by how well the older Hungarian was taking the news. Or perhaps he was simply humoring her. Like that time in her life when she thought she was a boy. Imagine her horror when nature proved her wrong on_ that_ one. She waited for Matthew to retrieve his husband before pulling Rodrich out from his hiding place in one of her dress pockets. "Dear, is it ok for him to see you?"

The blue crab looked at his beloved then at her uncle before nodding slowly. Poseidon help him. This was it. He was finally meeting the father-er- uncle but still. This moment was crucial…and something told him that he already botched his chance by screaming his head off during the party in his escape from Gilbert. Taking a deep breath he jumped onto a stool, his body enlarging, antenna and claws disappearing, leaving behind a fish tail. "Hello, sir," he said reaching out a hand, "It's an honor to finally meet you. Elizabeta has told me a lot-"

Magyar hadn't heard anything past the _Hello, sir._ Rolling his green eyes back, the elder Hungarian lost consciousness and fell into Elizabeta's waiting arms. She smiled wryly to Rodrich, "Well, that went a lot better than it could've gone."

"I can certainly see the family resemblance." He turned his head towards the door when he heard the familiar pitter patter that only small feet could make. Roderich managed to turn into a crab just as the kitchen door swung open, revealing a very emotional young prince.

"Auntie," called Peter, wiping angrily at his tear stained eyes, "is Uncle Gilbert around?"

Elizabeta frowned sadly at the state of her little prince and shook her head, "Sorry, sweetie, he's not. You're Uncle Matthew is with him at the moment."

"Oh, ok." Peter walked past them and out the back door that would take him to their backyard.

Rodrich had an uneasy feeling about what was about to occur and turned to his beloved, "I'm going to go make sure he's ok."

"I understand." The Hungarian lifted her uncle with both hands, "I'm going to go take him to his room. He's probably going to have a lot of questions when he wakes up."

The crab nodded, "Ok, Dear." Jumping off the stool, Roderich scurried after his charge. He found him struggling with the row boat. "Peter? Peter, what are you doing?"

"I've had just about enough!"

Roderich climbed onto a rock, "Now, child, it's going to be ok. Why when I was a young boy people used to tease me all the time." The merman thought back to the days when he and Robert were about Peter's age. Kids use to make fun of him constantly because he used to get in trouble for not wanting to practice magic. "You couldn't get me out of my room…er, shell for nothing. Not only was I more interested in music but I was really chubby and small. I had this high squeaky voice and my vision was terrible so I was really clumsy." Actually, it still was but thanks to Arthur, who had inadvertently gifted him with a pair of spectacles, he could see perfectly. "But then one day my voice became deeper, not by much I'll admit but at least I didn't sound like a deflating balloon fish. Oh! And I became a lot fitter, thanks to my best friend who helped me work out."

Peter looked over his shoulder when he finally managed to get the boat into the water, "Why would you want to be leaner? I thought crabs were supposed to be chubby."

"Only if you want to get eaten. Hey!" It finally hit Roderich what his charge was up to. Putting his claws where his hips would be he narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Where are you going, young man?"

The prince hopped into the boat, "I've gotta figure this out. I found the locket in the sea so I think the sea will have the answers I'm looking for." Peter put the chain around his neck, "Papa and Daddy are keeping something from me. Else Papa wouldn't have freaked out when he saw that I had it."

Roderich jumped onto the boat's ledge, "Arthur knows you went over the wall?!"

"Under. And yes, he does. I know this necklace means something, Roddy. And if nobody is going to tell me then I'm just going to have to figure it out myself. How long do you think it'll take to find a merman at sea?"

"Wait! Peter, you're making a big mistake!"

* * *

Natalya chuckled when she saw that Peter accidentally sent Roderich flying back into the water as he began to row. She turned to face her subordinates when the bubble that was projecting the scene popped.

"Oh, this is beautiful," she purred happily. "Go meet with Milen and bring me Arthur's boy. Here's a conch that'll take you to and from."

Damien slipped it around his neck, "Cool. Let's go vamp." Vladimir scowled but did was he was told silently.

"Hurry, boys! There's a little boy who needs our help."

* * *

It was like facing Robert twelve years ago all over again. Back then it wasn't so bad, at least the elder knew that Roderich was trailing after the younger. This time however…Arthur had no idea. He didn't even know of his and Elizabeta's relationship let alone that he'd been looking after Peter this whole time when he went out into the sea. That thought alone made his tummy bubble with anxiety.

"It's going to be ok, Roddy," he muttered to himself as he slipped through the metal bars under the wall. "You're going to tell Arthur that his only child has ventured out all by himself into the ocean. True he might allow Gilbert to deep fry you but in order to avoid that you must remain calm."

The crab swam across the small pool as he continued his pep talk, "This isn't your fault after all. It's not like you foresaw this happening. All you have to do is go in there and _calmly _explain to both princes that Peter has run away." He kept repeating what he was going to say as he walked through the sand and towards the palace when he saw Arthur and Alfred coming out, calling for their son.

Gasping in terror he ran towards them as a cat. They wouldn't hurt a kitty right? They wouldn't eat him at least. "Peter is gone! Peter is gone! Peter is gone!"

Arthur furrowed his brows in confusion, "Roderich?" Picking him up he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Looking into his young prince's worried green eyes then to the other prince's blue, Roderich burst into tears. His small white paws grabbed at Arthur's hands, "Peter's gone! I tried to stop him but he just wouldn't listen!" All he could ask for now was mercy but deep down he figured that he didn't even deserve that. Robert was totally going to kill him for this one after Alfred and Arthur had their way with him. Gasping in both terror and remorse he clawed at Arthur's shirt, "Our little prince is out there and it's all my fault. I don't deserve to live!"

But neither prince was concerned with punishing him; they were more worried about what the merman had just told them. Alfred was first to react, "Gone? Gone where?"

"Out," whimpered Roderich sadly. His dark purple eyes glistened with tears, "He went out to the…s-sea!" The merman drew out the last syllable as more sobs shook his tiny body and Alfred decided to take pity on the creature.

Gently, the blue eyed prince pulled Roderich from Arthur's clutches, a rather difficult feat seeing as though his husband's grip had tightened around the feline's waist in both fear and anxiety. "Dude…where do you think Peter could be going?"

Eyes furrowing, Arthur began to undo the buttons of his uniform, "I'm not sure, love. But we're going to go find him before _she_ does." Grabbing a hold of Alfred's hand he rushed them inside to inform Matthew and the others before heading towards their dock.

Roderich looked up to see their retreating forms. That's right! New terror clutched at his heart with icy hands. Not only could Peter potentially get lost at sea…he could be found. And not by the merperson that would willingly offer assistance out of the goodness of their heart either. Poseidon help him.

* * *

Blue eyes observed the stars above, searching for the northern star. Peter sighed, "It's no use. I won't be able to see it with-oh, there it is!" Happy now that he had a general idea of which direction he was headed in, the young prince continued to row. Long gone were the glowing lights of the palace so his only source of comfort was the glow of the moon and a bird that would fly by every now and again.

The lull of gentle waves brushing against the boat and the sound of his oars breaking water made up for the complete silence that overwhelmed the child. Perhaps he'd been too hasty in running away like this. Oh wait! Pulling his oars back inside, Peter opened his locket. Its loving melody made his belly warm much like the lullabies his papa would sing to him before bed or when he was particularly sad while his dad would lay on his other side with a protective arm around both of them. Being sandwiched in between both of his fathers always made him feel blessed. It definitely made up for the bullying he had to deal with at school. But then, it also made knowing that they were keeping something important from him ache all the more.

Peter gave a yelp when something tugged at his boat, changing it's direction. Was that Roderich? Closing his locket, Peter grabbed an oar and tried to dislodge himself from whatever was tugging on the boat.

"Oi, stop that, kid!" Damien came up and glared playfully, "Is that any way to treat your saviors?"

"M-my what?" The young blonde held back a nervous giggle. Staring at him with near black eyes was a great white. Though he'd never personally seen one of them, he heard from his dolphin friend that they were bad news. Not to mention his legs were feeling a strange tingle.

"Your savior," repeated the small shark. "I was swimming out here with a couple of my buddies and saw that there was this lone boat out here. Figured you were lost."

"I'm not lost." Peter looked around for the shark's friends, "where are your companions?"

"Well, you smacked one on the head…"

"OH! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. Is he ok?"

"He should be fine." Damien came out of the water some more, "So, what's a small fry like you doing all by himself out in the big blue? Don't you know it's dangerous out here?"

"Not you too." Peter frowned and settled back in the boat, "My dads are always telling me that but I don't think its true."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, cause if it were, then why would a great white be helping me? Shouldn't you be trying to eat me?"

The chibi shark smirked internally, 'You have no idea how badly I want to, kid.'

"And besides, you said that you were my savior. Where exactly were you going to take me Mr. Shark."

"The names Damien, Kid. And my associates and I were going to take you to go see my woman."

Peter poked his head over the ledge in confusion, "Your woman? You mean your mate? Why would I want to go see another shark? I was hoping to find a mermaid or merman. Not some shark."

"Natalya ain't no shark, kid. But, she kinda does have a bad temper."

"Well, why would you take me to go see her?" Peter was becoming more confused and the tingle in his legs was intensifying making him feel very uncomfortable.

Damien shrugged, "Figured she might help you find your way. Despite what you say, you do seem a bit lost." When Peter opened his mouth to deny such a notion, the chibi interrupted, "And before you say you aren't, remember us animals have a sixth sense about this sort of thing. Something tells me your inability to find your way has something to do more with yourself not necessarily your location at present."

The small blonde gasped and his hand went to secure itself around the locket. He never thought about it like that before. "Do…do you think she could really help me figure out what this locket means? Why it has my name on it?"

"Sure, Kid! Natalya's the best. She'll help you." Damien lowered his head back into the water to conceal his smirk when Peter gave an excited giggle.

"Ok! Take me to her please."

"No problem." Damien motioned for Milen and Vladimir to take a hold of the row boat again. "Go ahead and take a nap. We'll wake you when we get there."

Peter looked over his shoulder sadly before pulling out a blanket from his bag and settling down further in to the boat. He wrapped the warm flannel sheet around him pretended that his fathers were holding him. Speaking of fathers, hopefully the answers he sought would be well worth upsetting his parents. He quietly hummed one of his favorite lullabies that his papa would sing.

* * *

Christian scanned the room for a familiar flash of reddish brown hair and a flower. Grinning when he caught sight of a tuff of hair inside under a pile of animal shaped spongy toys, the prince feigned ignorance as he innocently swam by, "I wonder where my little jellyfish is. Could she be…here?!" Christian lunged into the pile of toys and pulled out a small giggling mermaid, "Found ya!"

Sarah pushed his face away as he threatened to tickle her belly by blowing on it. "Daddy, stop it! Heehee, I'm too old for belly bubbles!"

"Too old?" Her father pulled back and looked at her with raised shocked bushy eye brows, "You can't be too old. Cause if you are then that means _I'm_ too old."

"But you are."

"Oh!" Letting her go, knowing that she was old enough to know how to keep herself suspended, Christian grabbed at his heart as if in pain. "You wound me, little jelly fish. Oh, the agony! I'm…cough…dy..Cough…ing." Collapsing on the floor in exaggerated pain, the merman brought an arm to cover his eyes, then laid perfectly still.

The little mermaid flicked her grapefruit pink and white speckled tail to get closer to the 'corpse', "Daddy?" She giggled when she saw his fin give a flick in response, "You're not dead."

Christian waited until Sarah was close enough to grab, "No!" He chuckled as she giggled again in his embrace.

"Aww, you guys are playing without me?" Kyle gave them a soft smile to show that he wasn't upset at all.

"Uncle Kyle!" Sarah wiggled out of her dad's embrace to hug her uncle. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

"You saw me this morning, sweetie." Kyle took Sarah's hair out of her pony tail and fixed it again for her. "And then again when I went to go pick you up for school."

"Oh, yeah." The little mermaid looked between her uncle and father, "Daddy, can I ask Uncle Kyle to the Mommy-kiddy tea party at school?"

Both mermen froze at the question but Christian quickly reacted, "Er, sure…if my brother's cool with it." They turned their gazes at the blond who seemed more focused on fixing his niece's hair, his pale yellow and lavender tail was moving back and forth slowly in thought.

"Uncle Kyle?"

"Sure, princess." Kyle gently pinched the girl's cheeks fondly, "I'll go with you."

"Yay!" Sarah gave him a hug before swimming out of the playroom, "Come and give me my good night kisses later, ok?"

"Ok," called out both brothers in unison making them exchange glances.

When the girl was out of sight, Christian sighed tiredly and ran a hand down his face, "Listen, Kyle, I…uh…"

"It's ok, big brother."

"Y-you don't have to go if you don't want to. I know it might make you feel uncomfortable."

Kyle shrugged, "Not really. I'm not the first male attending a mother slash child function and I won't be the last. Antonio and Lovi go alternatively and so do Ludwig and Feli. Feliks and Toris do too not to mention Berwald and Tino. It's not like anyone thinks ill thoughts about men being mothers down here."

"T-that's not why I'm concerned." Christian rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "It's well…you're my brother, mate."

"So? It's not any different than when I was maternal towards Arthur and Feli. You were that way too with them and David."

"That's different. We're all brothers, well Feli isn't by blood but still."

The smaller merman dropped the toys he was picking up in their designated tub before turning sharply to his brother, "Look, if it makes _you_ that uncomfortable I won't go. I thought I was helping you out but the last thing I want is to make you unhappy."

Groaning in annoyance, Christian bent his tail to lean back in a sitting position, "You're not making me unhappy. It just that…"

Kyle sighed and swam closer to his brother so that he could put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Look, I'm sorry about Trisha. She was a bloody tosser that didn't deserve you nor that precious vessel. But what's done is done, mate."

"I know."

"I just…don't want you to keep beating yourself up over it. No one could've foreseen her running off with that octopus changing merman."

"I know."

"You'll find someone else worthy of your and little Sarah's heart."

"Poseidon hear ya." Christian glanced over to his young brother and smacked him lovingly on the back, "How 'bout you, little brother? When are you going to tie the knot as they say?"

The blonde shrugged, "Not sure. Haven't really found the right person, I guess."

"They're out there somewhere."

"Yeah...hey, let's go tuck in our little princess."

"Ok!" Both Christian and Kyle swam out of the play room and towards Sarah's room. They swam by Murphy and Connor, the twins held a worried expression on their face. "What's wrong, little brothers? Lose another mount?"

"No, it's worse than that?" Murphy ran a hand through his red hair, his bushy eyebrows lowered with worry.

Beside him, Connor flicked his emerald tail anxiously in sync with his twin, "Roderich just gave us the news. Peter is missing!"

"What?!" Christian and Kyle exchanged nervous glances before the older addressed the twins, "Does Bobby know? Feli?"

"David went to go tell Feli and Ludwig. Robert is sending out search parties as we speak."

Murphy became rigid, "You don't think that crazy bitch has him do you?" The siblings froze at the thought. With brows furrowing with determination the all silently reached an agreement. "We need to go help Artie find our nephew."

"Indeed," muttered Christian. "Kyle you stay here with Sarah. Tell her that I went to go take care of business or something."

"What," cried Kyle indignantly. "Hell no! I'm going out there too. Arthur's going to need everyone out there."

"And_ I_ need someone here to keep an eye on my daughter. What if Natalya or one of her cronies comes to Atlantica and we're all away. Robert is no doubt sending all of our guards to search. That's going to leave our domain unprotected." Christian grabbed his brother's slender shoulders and gave him a gently shake, "Please, Kiwi. Stay here."

"Ok, yes, I'll stay put."

"Thank you. Come on you two, let's go."

Kyle watched his siblings swim away and sighed before making his way to his niece's room. He found her looking at a picture book Feli gave her from his library in the grotto he once shared with Arthur. Smiling, he settled down next to her and took the book from her small hands.

"Where did daddy go," she asked sleepily.

"He had to go do something important for your Uncle Arthur, sweetie."

"Is he the one who has legs?"

"Yes."

"Is he ok?"

"He's really sad right now."

"Why?" Sarah looked at her uncle curiously, taking note at how his green eyes softened with tears. "Uncle?"

"He lost his baby and your daddy and other uncles are going to help him find him."

* * *

Peter shivered in his sleep, his breath coming out in small puffs of white smoke. He pulled his sheets tighter around his frame but the cold kept him from properly retreating once again to his dream world. The young prince cracked open a blue eye before opening them both in surprise. "Damien," he called, "Where are we?" He waited for a response but none came. Peter looked around him, the icy scenery reminded him of the stories his uncle Matthew would tell him about the waters in the Nordic region. Perhaps that's were his new shark friend had brought him to. His eyes settled on a large cave made of ice. Was this where Natalya lived? "She must be really lonely out here all by herself," he whispered to himself.

"She ain't alone, you know." Damien answered back as they made their way inside the cavern's mouth and through the tunnel. "She's got me and two other guys so it isn't that bad." Turning at the curve, Peter felt his eyes water at the bright light of a room. "Honey, I'm home!"

Natalya swallowed an angry hiss. Something told her that the miniaturized idiot was going to try and take advantage of the situation by acting over affectionate. Not like she could be as cruel as she normally would; after all, she did have to cultivate her bait. And what better way to catch it than with the promise of honey?

Putting on her best smile, she sat up in purple clam shaped chair, "Hello, darling." Poseidon that left a horrid taste in her mouth but she ignored it. Instead she feigned a look of surprise, "You've brought a guest I see."

Peter blushed bashfully. Before him was a very pretty mermaid with a metallic purple tail, a black spot, rather half of a black spot, marked the center of her fin. His eyes traveled upward and the blush intensified when he realized that she wasn't wearing much, save a pair of black seashells. Her face was slender yet didn't betray her age. If anything, Peter could've sworn she wasn't past her twenties.

The mermaid noticed his staring and smirked, "We merfolk age much slower than your average human. Come now, get out of the cold, child. I wouldn't want you to get sick."

Nodding, Peter got out of his boat when Damien dragged it closer to the ice, bringing his blanket with him. Natalya helped him take a seat next to her in the shell before offering some refreshments. The young blonde eyed the platter of strange creatures warily, paling when one was still moving, "Thank you, Miss but I'm not really that hungry." He looked around and noticed the shelves were filled with thick volumes as well as various pottery. "I was hoping you could tell me what this locket is and why it has my name on it. My papa wouldn't tell me…"

With unusual tenderness, Natalya removed the necklace from the boy's neck to inspect the engraving. "Dorian is a very unique name for a human," she noted.

"It's my middle name actually, my first name is Peter. My Papa likes music," explained Peter. Looking away he sighed, "I like music too but…" he trailed off and brought his blanket closer around himself. "Papa doesn't understand."

"Of course not, Peter." The mermaid placed an arm around the child's shoulders to bring him closer to her. "You're not the only one with family who doesn't understand you." Thinking back to her beloved brother and stupid sister she made a face, "Believe me. I know just how you feel." She looked at the golden shell in her hand then back at Peter's curious expression, "Little comrade, did you ever consider that perhaps it has your name on it because it has your destiny in it as well?"

When she opened the locket and the bubble with the playful mermen revealed itself, Peter gasped. "You mean…"

"Oh, deep down you should've know, comrade, that you weren't meant to be a _lowly_ human." She brought the bauble closer to his face just as the mermen turned to wave at him cheerfully. "What you are is something far more enchanting."

"A merman?" The tingles Peter felt in his legs earlier came back but he mistook them for being too cold. Bringing the up to his chest so that he could cover them with his blanket he looked away again, "As wonderful as that sounds, Miss, I can't be. Both my Papa and Daddy are human. It's impossible." The blonde jerked his head up when he heard the mermaid's tingling laughter.

"Sweet comrade, _anything_ is possible."

Hope swelled in the little prince's chest and he felt a small tug at the lips, "You can turn me into a mermaid?"

"Of course, I can!" Natalya reminded Milen and Vladimir of Natasha with the way she smiled oh so kindly. They, along with Damien, rolled their eyes at her enthusiastic confidence as she dragged herself to a cabinet.

She hummed sweetly to herself as she rummaged through, "Aha! One drop of this and you'll get everything you've ever wanted. " Pulling out a black bottle she gave it a wipe, revealing a sickle engraved into the glass.

"Is that what I think it is?" Damien scowled in anger, "Where did you get Ivan's liquid magic?"

Rolling her eyes in the accusing tone her subordinate was using she hissed back, "I was saving it for a special occasion." Grinning back at peter she motioned for him to come closer, "And what could be considered any more special than helping a_ very_ special boy get his wish." Peter carefully hopped off the shell and made his way to the mermaid.

She motioned for him to remove his shoes, "Come now, little comrade. Your destiny awaits." Peter sat down on the cold surface of the cavern and lifted a foot onto her lap, wincing slightly at how cold her scales felt. He watched as a single drop of black vile smelling liquid fell from the bottle and onto his flesh making it ripple like water.

A purple thread of light began to wrap itself around him like a cacoon. His pants tore at the seams making him gasp in pain as his legs began to fuse together. His lungs heavier within him as if the tissue itself was reconstruction the organ and its airways. Closing his eyes, a brief thought swam through his mind, 'Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea…"

And yet, as soon as the pain over took his thin body it went away. When he opened his eyes again he let out a joyous giggle, "I don't believe it. I'm a merman!" Peter happily flipped his tail up and down, marveling at the light blue scales and how they darkened when moved just so then lightened again when moved the other way. Natalya raised an eyebrow at the black scales lining the base of the tail creating a gradient along the sides of the fin. She didn't remember that being there when he was an infant; then again, those scales normally wouldn't grow in until the child was older.

The mermaid's attention was brought back to the child at hand when he suddenly tossed his sailor shirt on her chair before jumping into the water. His happy musings echoed off the chilly walls and she couldn't help but feel the tiniest of tugs on the corner of her mouth. Such innocence. Such Joy. The tug became more insistent and she allowed herself to smirk. Such a pleasure it'll be to use it to destroy Robert and his baby brother.

* * *

**Hello. I'm very sorry for the late update but I promise to make it up to you guys. It's only one more week till Christmas and I have made NO progress what so ever aside from putting up lights and dressing my tree. Any way, You've all been so awesome so I'm going to go ahead a post another chapter up in about two days. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter ^_^ Thank you to everyone who've added this story to their favorites and to their follow list. It means a lot =3**

**ps- I can't believe that I've only JUST now read the 2013 Hetalia update ah but the fan service ^_^ lol**

**Until Next Time~**

**aycee-san: Those kids always struck me the wrong way...I'm sorry if I made them too mean, I wanted it to be a little darker than the movie. Hope that was ok T_T  
**

**VivaAmerica: Lol, I can only imagine what a father figure would say if their little girl did that in real life. Thanks for the review =3 I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**zoewinter1: Yup.**

**Marshal Thompson: Yay, that's happy lol. Thanks =3 **

**pastaaddict: lol yeah... Prussia is awesome X3 Thanks for the review. Also thanks for the Review you left me in Love Has No Recipe. That REALLY means a lot. I know I saw that often but I truly mean it. Especially in regards to that Fic because even though it's gotten a fair amount of views nobody leaves me reviews T_T So it genuinely made my day to see yours =3**

**Sandra DeNite: Don't worry I'll see this story to the end =3 I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Hope you liked this chapter as well ^.^**


	6. For A Moment

**Human Names:**

**Berwald and Tino's son**

**-Ladonia/Patrik: 11 years old**

**Mathias and Emma's son**

**-Luxemburg/Willem: 12 years old**

**Emil and Lilly's son**

**-Kugelmugel/Erik: 6 years old**

**Please excuse any grammar mistakes I've made. I'll be combing through this again as I'm sure plenty have escaped me T_T **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Characters of Hetalia nor do I own the Songs from Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea**

Natalya watched Peter skip in and out of the water, shouting out happily as he swam out of the cave. Insistent poking on her hip made her growl in annoyance, "What, Damien?"

The shark changed back into a merman. He angrily waved the now empty bottle of black magic in her face, or rather tried, his short arms didn't quite make his movements menacing at all. "You had this stored away this entire time?! You could've changed me back! Why I oughta-"

"Hush, Chibi." Natalya ran a hand soothingly through the merman's black hair, "It'll be well worth it in the end."

"But you just let him go! What if the brat doesn't come back?"

Dipping her fin into the water, the mermaid shrugged, "He will. I know he will."

* * *

The sun was rising when Robert and Ludwig met with Arthur and Alfred. The blue eyed prince was holding onto his husband as he spoke to his brother. "Bobby, I'm so worried. What if that sea witch has him?"

Robert reached out and took his brother's hand, "Everything is going to be ok, Arthur. Your brothers have taken search parties to scour the ocean. I'm about to go head out myself."

Alfred bit the corner of his lip in thought before snuffling his husband's hair, "Artie? Love, what if…what if you go with Robert?"

"What?" Arthur furrowed his brow in confusion, "What good would that do?"

"Dude, who better to find our son in the water than his awesome merman papa? You know these waters better than anyone." He smiled encouragingly, "After all, you did go exploring a lot with Feli when you two were younger right? And besides, I need to stay up here to lead the search above. And if, um, if Ludwig would be willing, for old time's sake, I would very much like it if he joined me in the search up here."

Ludwig looked down at his tail then at Alfred, "I-"

"That sounds like an excellent plan to me," interrupted Robert. The sea king had a feeling that the German would be torn in between helping his friend and keeping his tail so he assured him. "Don't worry, Ludwig. When we find Peter, I'll return your tail to you."

"Danke, sir, but that's not the only reason why I'm worried. It could be dangerous for Arthur to come back. If Natalya _has_ managed to find him, which I highly doubt," he quickly added when he saw the look of horror across the couple's face, "she won't hurt him."

"What makes you so sure?"

"She wants to harm you and Arthur. Chances are that she's after something and plans on using Peter as bait. If Arthur comes back to the water, we'd only be playing into her hands."

Robert frowned, "That's right. I didn't think about that."

"Alfred's right though, Bobby. I know my son." Arthur smiled weakly, "Turns out he inherited more than just my eyebrows. I should've know better than to keep him from something that is a huge part of who he…_we_ are. I _have_ to go. Don't worry, Ludwig, I'll be fine." The German nodded in acceptance and waited for his transformation to take effect.

Alfred ran his thumb over Arthur's knuckles, "Bring him home. love." He pressed his lips onto his husband's forehead before helping him onto the ships ledge while Robert waved his hand over the water, moving the pillar of water to lift Ludwig so that the German could sit on the ledge as well.

Both blonds closed their eyes as a warm golden light engulfed their bodies. For the sea prince, he felt his legs go numb before tingling as if water droplets were falling all over his flesh. He smiled in a sense of pleasure when his fin flicked up and down with excitement at the prospect of once again feeling the rush of water. Red scales covered his tail the silver returning along the sides, his seal not removed yet. Still, when he opened his eyes, he removed his shirt and looked at his forearm, to verify that the black feather seal was still there.

Beside him, Ludwig gave a sigh of relief when he saw that Robert had generously gifted him with some pants. The last thing he needed was for his best friend to make a snark comment about…Ludwig cleared his throat in embarrassment and stretched his legs before sliding onto the deck. He grunted when Gilbert crushed him in an embrace, "Bruder, it's been so long!"

"You saw me yesterday, dummkopf," muttered Ludwig, a blush gracing his face. The red intensified when Alfred joined the embrace.

"Dude, I've missed you so much, bro," he said cheerfully.

"J-ja. Me too. Now let go so we can find Peter."

"Indeed," murmured Arthur as he handed his shirt to Alfred. With one last kiss to his husband he jumped into the sea. His red headed brother followed after him.

* * *

Meanwhile in Nordic waters, Peter giggled in glee as he swam back and forth. The cold that had scratched at him earlier enough to rouse him from sleep felt like a gentle brush of feathers on his skin. It was a little strange, the tail but it was a wonderful kind of strange. All he had to do lean in the direction he wanted to go in and let his blue appendage do the work.

Throwing his arms over his head, he did a back flip under water, "This is so cool!" Breathing underwater was so second nature to him, almost like he really _had_ been born to be a merman. He dove further down before quickly flicking his fin back and forth to cut through the water, sending him up like a torpedo. "WOOH," he cried out happily as he shot out of the water and twisted his body downward to dive back in.

Sighing, he allowed himself to float back up. Peter swam backwards, unaware that he was about to collide with a large mass. "Oh!" The young merman quickly turned around to apologize, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you."

The intimidating sea lion didn't say anything but its stoic blue eyes seemed to look shocked at the creature before it. Three younger sea lions poked over their care taker in curiosity.

Peter gave another apologetic smile before swimming backwards. "Ok, get a grip. Get the hang of this flipper," he said to himself. Pulling his fin up and out of the water, he ran a finger along its near transparent curvature, the very tip of it curled out delicately. "It's like slipping to feet into one big huge slipper."

One of the sea lions looked at its on fin in curiosity then to his dad, "What's a slipper?" The larger sea creature shrugged and made a mental note to ask his wife-er-_husband_ later.

The young prince didn't pay much attention to the exchange behind him and instead focused on trying to figure out how navigate in the water better. So far everything looked the same. "This way is left and which way is right? Oh, now I'll be circling in circles all night." He looked up at the sun and saw that it was east. "Ah! So this is forward, no problem!" Peter made a mental note of his surroundings so that he could return to Natalya when he was done testing out his new tail.

"I can't believe I can do this and more," he sang happily to himself when he dove back into the water. He dove further down until he reached the sea bed, where little hermit crabs and schools of fishes going were going about their business. "To swim in the sea like I walk on the shore. Out of my shell not closed up like a clam. Look out, sea, this is me, here I am!"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw two large creatures swimming near him. He gasped when he realized what they were. Narwhals! Peter had never seen one in person and their majestic forms were much more amazing to him than any picture he had in his books. Swimming a little closer, he waited for their approval which was strangely given immediately. What luck! The narwhals swam beside him playfully. Almost protectively. Peter raised an eyebrow but dismissed the thought. 'Why on earth would I need protection? No, this must be their nature. Papa was wrong. Nothing is going to hurt me out here.'

Peter saw that his companions were looking at him affectionately. He reached out a hand to lightly touch the narwhal's flipper, "For a moment all of me, is alive and at home in the sea." The creature let it self be pulled into a dance, "I'm swirling and twirling so graceful and grand. Not stubbing my toes or getting stuck in the sand." He let his partner go and watched her swim away with her mate.

With a soft smile, Peter swam in the other direction, "For a moment life is cool." He tightened his abdominal and pushed his way out of the water and dove back in with a large splash making his laugh once again. "I'm a splash in the world's biggest pool! This is more than my thoughts ever thought it could be."

Warmth bubbled in the young prince's tummy making his smile broaden as he swam through a tunnel of brilliantly color fish, "For a moment, just a moment, lucky me." The prince giggled when the fishes ticked his torso.

* * *

Arthur and Robert parted ways; the king took to the east while the prince took to the west. Something told the blonde merman that Peter had probably figured that his lungs were perfectly capable of breathing underwater given that he'd been playing in the sea. With that in mind, Arthur checked all the places that would probably interest a boy his age. The naval ships that he had explored with Feli still remained untouched as well as empty. The fish life around it told him that they hadn't seen their little prince but that they'd keep an eye for him.

As he looked through that one naval corpse, the last one he and Feli had ever explored. Arthur picked up a pipe or, and he chuckled weakly at remembering this, a snarfblatt. He felt his chest tighten with sadness. He'd been a curious fellow and had wanted nothing more for his brothers to understand. _Why _in Poseidon's blue sea would he think that his offspring would be any different? Tears pricked at his green eyes as he sighed and put the pipe back, "If only for one moment, I had shared with you all I know. The sea wouldn't be a mystery. Oh, why did you have to go?" Wiping at his eyes, Arthur swam out of the ship to continue his search.

* * *

"Everything's newer and brighter and bluer and truer to life than before. Watch me soar!" Three sea lions turned to their caretaker when they saw that the merman had returned, skipping through the water gleefully. The larger creature nodded, making them smile and trail after Peter. Together they watched the merman approach an orca whale. Perhaps this was close enough. After all those guys tended to eat little guys like them. To their surprise the orca gave them all a friendly smile but they didn't want to tempt nature.

Peter knew better than to test his luck but when the Orca offered a friendly smile he couldn't help but feel more at ease with his environment. "For a moment, I can shine. Got a grin and a fin that works fine." Swimming alongside the beautiful creature, he showed him his hands, "My fingers are wrinkly but I really don't care. And all of the gel has been washed out of my hair because for a moment I can feel that all of the dreams I've been dreaming are real."

The orca descended a bit to allow his prince to ride on his back while thinking, 'Wait till the family hears about this!' He raised them both onto the surface so that he could take a breath of air. The merman on his back rested his head on his hand in thought while another clutched at the locket around his neck, "Wish my Papa could hear it, the sea is my song. For a moment, just a moment, I belong." Unbeknownst to him his father was searching frantically for his son.

* * *

Fear had been working its cruel claws through Arthur's heart. 'What if we don't find him? What if I'm wrong and his lungs stopped filtering water for oxygen? What if-No!" Arthur clenched his fists, angry with himself for even thinking it, "Peter is _not_ dead. He isn't. I know he isn't."

"I will find you, my darling," sang Arthur as he approached his garden. Feli had obviously kept up with it for it looked just as beautiful as he remembered it. Plucking a red flower like the one he'd give Robert oh so many years ago he held it over his heart, "And the moment that I do, I'll hold you close, my Dorian, and sing the song of the sea with you."

With his depression banished from his mind, he swam with determination. He had to find his son, he just had to. He had so much to teach him. To show him. To share with him. Nodding to himself he grinned, "I'll sing the song of the sea with you."

* * *

The sun was making its way back into the horizon when the orca, who Peter learned was named Tamia, dropped him off at the mouth of Natalya's cave. He tried to keep his prince from entering but Peter took off before he got a chance to. The merman launched himself at the mermaid, startling her into a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he chirped happily, nuzzling into her flat abdomen. "Thank you so much!"

Natalya was frozen in suspension, too shocked that the boy was hugging her. She brushed it off and started phase two of her plan. With trembling lips, tears rolling down her cheeks and a broken sob, she let herself fall out of the little merman's embrace and onto her couch, "I'm so sorry, little comrade."

"W-what's wrong?" Peter sat next to her and gently touched her shoulder. "Are you sad?" Looking down at her tail he gasped. "What happened to your fin?!"

The mermaid flicked her fin, confused for a moment before remembering that she had taken off the prosthetic half of her fin. She smirked into her arms, things were just falling onto her platter now. She wiped the tears from eyes but more kept falling when she finally addressed Peter, "It was cut off by a horrible merman." Bringing a finger to his chubby cheek, she poked it, "But that's not why I'm sad. Well, it sort of is. You see, comrade, my fin has all my black scales and that's where I draw my power but when that merman cut it off, I lost half of my strength. The tail I gave you won't last forever, my dear and I don't have anymore potion nor am I strong enough to make it permanent."

"What?" Peter took off his hand and held it to his chest, "But I really like my tail." He took her hand in his and looked at the mermaid pleadingly, "Please, I don't want to go back to being an ordinary boy. Miss Natalya, isn't there a way?"

Damien helped Natalya up and took her to the cauldron, "I'm afraid not, squirt."

"That's not necessarily true, darling," murmured the blonde mermaid. "Oh, but who am I kidding. There's no way I'll ever get it back, not in my current state anyway and it's far too dangerous to ask you to go, little comrade."

Peter got off the couch and swam closer to the odd couple, "What? What is it?"

The mermaid leaned against her brother's cauldron, "There is _one_ way I can make myself strong enough to make you a permanent merman but it would require my brother's magic Trident." With a wave of her hand over the cauldron, a black image of the Trident appeared. Peter swam closer to see.

"Where is it?"

"It was stolen years ago," she murmured darkly, trying in vain to keep her anger in check. "He was murdered and the Trident taken from him by a deranged kleptomaniac." Natalya had plenty more words to describe the Kirkland brothers, but she was, after all, talking to a child. A child, she noted with disdain, who looked too much like the bastards responsible for the death of the one person she ever loved. And her sister. Though she may not have been dying for _her_ attention, Natasha was still a blood relative and now she was left with no one.

With another flick of her hand, a dark Trident took a new shape, this time of Robert. Peter stared at the merman's shadowy form, "Was he the one…who did it?"

"Yes." Natalya covered her face with a slender arm dramaticly, "It was very important to us, to me but I have no one brave enough to bring it back to me."

Peter perked up, "I'm brave. My daddy tells me so all the time. He's a hero you know."

"Is he?"

"Yeah and he said that I'm his little hero, too. Maybe I can be yours by retrieving the Trident for you."

Natalya brought down her arm and looked at the little merman before him with a wide eye, "You'd…do that for me?"

"If I did, would you make me a merman forever?"

"Even longer, if you like. You know that we merfolk tend to live a lot longer than humans; I could make you a real merman."

Peter frowned. Well, he wasn't completely sure about that. What would he do without his parents? Maybe she would be willing to make them mermen too. Oh, and his uncles and aunt. Yeah! If he brought back this Trident then she would be so happy and grateful that she would definitely turn his family as well. Peter watched her pull out a tablet of ice and started to carve little lines on it.

"Here," Natalya handed over the tablet and pointed at the X, "This is where he lives."

"Atlantica?! You mean it's real? It's not just some fish tale?" He blushed when the mermaid raised a confused eyebrow.

"Of course it's real, comrade. Where do you think Merfolk….who told you it didn't exist?"

"My..."Peter looked down sadly, "My Papa."

Natalya scoffed, "Well I'm sure he didn't mean to be cruel and deceitful. I'm sure he had his reasons from keeping you from your happiness that weren't at all selfish."

The frown came back on Peter's smooth face, a little crease formed on his brow. His papa…No. He wouldn't think about it. Putting his hat back on his head, Peter grinned at Natalya, "I'll get the Trident, Miss Natalya. You can count on me!"

"Be careful, little comrade. Enjoy those fins!" When the tip of Peter's blue tail was out of sight she petted Damien's little shark head and added darkly, "While you can."

Peter swam back out and was pleasantly surprised to find Tamia waiting for him. Upon seeing the little prince, the orca heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness you're safe. I was worried you'd get hurt."

"Why would I be?"

"Well," Tamia swam alongside the blonde merman, "there's an evil witch living in there. My dad told us to stay as far away from here as possible but I couldn't leave without knowing ya where ok."

"Miss Natalya isn't evil, she's very nice. She's just really sad because her big brother and sister were murdered." Peter looked up from his map to his companion, "Wouldn't you be sad? I know I would be."

The orca frowned slightly, "I would but my dad said-"

"My papa told me that the sea was dangerous and scary and bad but it's not true. Maybe your dad is wrong about Miss Natalya. Besides if she really wanted to hurt me she would've done it by now don't you think?"

"I…suppose so." Tamia descended so that his prince would ride on his back once again, "Where are you headed to now?"

"I'm trying to find Atlantica but I can't really understand this map."

"Oh! I know where that is. I can take-I-I can take," Tamia's eyes were starting to water as his chin brushed against grape seaweed. Oh no. Wiggling his nose, he tried to keep his sneeze in but the itch was becoming unbearable. Curse his allergies! "I-I'm so sor-" Peter looked over to his new friend with worry but before he got a chance to say anything he found himself soaring through the air after a loud sneeze.

Peter landed on a mass of ice with his fin over his head, "Eep!" He managed to roll out of the way when his map fell right next to him, shattering on impact. "Oh, no! How am I going to find my way now?" The blonde merman took off his hat to run a hand through his hair while he thought about his options when he heard a cry for help. "Huh?"

"Help! My little sister's stuck. Help!"

Curious, Peter dragged himself closer to the sound and gasped. Penguins were forming a vertical bridge in effort to grab onto a smaller penguin that was stranded on a sliver of ice. What was worse was that a shark was circling around the child, nudging the ice with every rotation it completed in attempt to knock the penguin over.

The little chick raised her arms and jumped, missing the older penguin's flippers each time she tried, "Big brother, help me!"

"I'm trying, sis. I'm trying! Someone help us!" The penguin's knees trembled with the weight he was already lowering but he tried his best to hold on.

"Wah! Hurry!" The shark was getting anxious for his lunch and tried a different maneuver, this time going under the sheet of ice to flip it over.

"Damn it, I can't reach her," yelled the penguin at the end of the bridge. He looked down at the chick in despair and tried extending his flippers out some more.

Peter was about to go help when he saw the three snow white seals bouncing along the sheets of ice, chasing one another. "Mightier than a hurricane," said one with dark blue eyes and a scratch along its face."

"Braver than a killer whale," shouted another wearing a black hat when they reached the strip of ice the penguins were occupying.

"Faster than a moray eel!"

It's the fearless adventurers-"

"Slash artists," added a meek seal with violet eyes.

The other two sea lions stopped and stared at the smaller one when the one with the scratch spoke up, "Really, Erik? We aren't artists."

"I am."

"Ok, guys," intervened the one with the hat, "we can be both. Fearless adventurers slash artists. Does that sound good?"

"Whatever," muttered the little sea lion with the scratch, "As long as I get to be an adventurer its fine. Now let's go save this little guy."

When the three sea lions got closer to the family of penguins, Peter heard the birds groan in protest as they climbed down the ladder of penguins. 'Well that's not nice of them,' he thought to himself. 'They're trying to help.' The little chick's older brother struggled against the added weight but didn't let go.

Willem grabbed his cousin's fin while Patrik grabbed onto Erik's. Patrik giggled happily, "If we pull this off, then maybe we'll finally be regarded with respect. They won't laugh at us anymore!"

"Rather be drawing," murmured Erik quietly while he tried to grab the chick.

"Quiet you! This is the moment we've been waiting for."

"Yeah," chirped Willem. "This is like redemption for all those times we've screwed up. We'll finally be seen as proper Vikings just like our dads."

"Paintings are more fun," muttered Erik. "And we don't have to deal with sharks."

Patrik stopped swinging his cousin, "What?"

"Sharks. We don't have to worry about sharks eating us."

Willem licked his furry lip and gave a nervous chuckle, "W-who said anything about sharks?"

"Well, there _is_ a shark down there. Actually he stopped circling the baby penguin. Now it's just staring at us….It looks hungry." Erik blinked lazily at the shark, "I think he wants to eat me."

"Why would you-" Patrik yelped when the shark jumped out of the water and tried grabbed one of them. Missing, the shark fell back onto the ice, sending the baby penguin flying into the air. Her brother let go of the other's so that he could catch her. One by one the penguins landed on top of the sea lions, crushing them under their rubber like bodies. "Get off of us, you stupid-"

"Dude, watch out," cried Peter in horror when the shark tried to flip the ice over. He jumped into the water and swam towards the frightened sea creatures. "Hey, leave them alone, you big bully!"

The shark turned his attention to the merman and started to stalk him, "Sea lions and penguins are nice but it's been far too long since I've had a merchild. _Far _too long."

Peter paled and started to swim away. Patrik panicked for the merman's safety and called it back, "Oi! Y-you don't want him. Why would you want one tasty merman when you can have all of us?" This suggestion was met with furious remarks from the penguins but managed to catch the shark's interest. "Y-yeah, I mean. Sure you can have a merman but he won't fill your belly. You'll only stay hungry and then what? Are you really going to miss out on all of this for _one_ merman?"

"Shut up, freak," hissed one of the penguins. "Are you as stupid as you are insane?"

Patrik ignored them, his heart beating furiously in his chest when the shark came back. Oh, Poseidon, now what?! The shark jumped on the ice again in effort to knock them all over but only managed to send them flying back to the ledge where the brother penguin held onto his sister.

"Well," grunted Willem as he wiggled his fluffy rear, "that wasn't too bad. It totally could have been-"

"Don't say it," hissed a penguin to his right.

"Worse?" All around him he heard annoyed groans turned to furious squawks when the ice began to crack from the weight. "Huh…" Peter dove under water just as everything collapsed on itself, the shark wasn't so lucky. "Wow," breathed Willem when he finally dug his way out of the snow. Next to him his cousins and the penguins popped out of the snow, "That was awesome!"

"Awesome? Awesome?!" The three sea lions turned to face a red faced penguin, "You nearly got my crew killed! What were you thinking taunting that shark? You should've let it get that stupid merman and be done with it."

"But then he would've been eaten."

"So? Better him than us."

"You know we're mermen too right," asked Patrik as he shook off the snow from his fur.

"Freaks of nature more like it."

"Big brother," murmured the little chick as she nuzzled against his neck, "don't be mean."

"Hmph, whatever." Turning back to the trio he glared, "I don't care who your Uncle is, just because he's headmaster of our school, doesn't mean we have to like you. Now scram and take that damn merbrat with you."

Patrik bit his tongue to keep from lashing out and gently grabbed his baby cousin's flipper, "Come on, Erik. Willem lets go."

"Told you art was more fun," murmured Erik sadly.

"Ah, who needs them?" Willem slid back into the water, "Bunch of ingrates is what they are. Oh! We should go see that kid. Maybe he'll want to play with us." The three sea lions jumped into the water in search of the little merman they saw. They found him sitting on an iceberg trying to piece together a broken tablet.

Erik peered over Patrik's shoulder, "Whatcha doing?"

The young prince rolled over and saw the three sea lions from earlier. They slid down, turning into mermen as they reached him. One of them, the one who spoke, picked up a shard of ice, "This wasn't very artistic," he noted quietly.

Another merman, a boy with a red line running along his left cheek and onto his nose and fiery red hair rolled his eyes. He flicked his navy blue and silver speckled tail over his head, "Erik, not everything has to be art."

"…yes it does," Erik used the ice shard and started to doodle in the snow, his violet eyes drooping as he concentrated on his drawing.

"Ignore those, two," said a merman with wild blond hair. A little black hat sat precariously on his head, "The name's Willem. What's yours?"

Peter stared at the three merboys, "Uh, P-Peter. My name is Peter. You guys were just sea lions. How did-"

"Hmm? Oh! We're magic mermen but Papa asked for my Uncle Lukas to seal me up which is fine by me 'cause I don't really like magic. Oh! And I get to have this cool seal on me." Willem turned around to show Peter his seal. "It's just like my Dad's only his has a crown on it. Patrik doesn't have one though; his dads wanted him to learn."

Patrik huffed, "Yeah, cause unlike you, I actually have talent." He turned to Peter, "What about you? Are you any good?"

The young prince blushed, "Good at what?"

"Magic, duh! Look you even have a healthy patch of black scales. I don't remember seeing you around Sve's Academy for Gifted Youngsters though. Do you go to Atlantica Academy?"

"Oh, uh, no. I used to go to school back at home but I didn't learn magic. Didn't even know I _could_ do magic."

Erik looked up from his drawing, "You're not from around here are you."

"I'm…new I guess you can say."

"Hm."

"Well I don't care if I was lousy at magic," said Willem while fixing his little hat. "My dad is a Viking you know and I think Vikings are awesome!"

"Uncle Mathias is not a Viking," cried Patrik with furrowed brows. "Only humans can be Vikings."

"He is so a Viking. Vikings are strong and are always exploring new places and my dad is strong and is always exploring new places so that makes him a Viking."

"Psh, whatever. _My_ dad is a Viking too, then."

"Which one?"

"Who do you think? Mama says he's too fragile to be a Viking but Papa's told me that Mama Tino can be scary like a Viking if you make him mad enough."

Peter was astounded by how calmly these boys were talking about having two fathers. As if it was the most normal thing in the world. Well, to Peter it was seeing as he had two fathers and his uncles were both married to each other but outside of the palace he'd always been made fun of that fact. He voiced this thought to his three new companions.

Patrik spoke first, "Why would anyone make fun of that? It's perfectly normal. Man, I hope Ezio doesn't hear about this."

"Or his brothers for that matter."

"Or, Raivis, Fabian, Shane and Sakura," added Erik.

"Who are they," asked Peter.

"They're some of our friends and they have two dads."

"Oh."

"Yeah, hey! Do you want to play with us?"

"I would love to but I don't really have much time and I really have to get to Atlantica. If only I knew how to get there…" Peter looked down at his hand which still held the part of the tablet with the compass on it.

"We could take you," offered Willem. "It's been a while since we've gone."

"Really?!"

"Sure! Anything is better than having to go back and deal with those other guys…"

"What's the point," muttered Erik, now done doodling in the ice. He flipped over to his back and raised his brown and ivory tail over his head, letting the fin cover his face, "They'll only make fun of us when we go to school."

"Yeah, but that's not until Monday. Maybe they'll forget over the weakened."

"That's wishful thinking."

"Why don't you just admit that you want to go see Fabrezio," teased Patrik making Willem blush red.

"I-I do not!"

Peter cocked his head in confusion, "Who's Fabreezeo?"

"It's Fabrezio," corrected the redhead. "And nobody special. Just my cousin's boyfriend."

"He is _not_ myboyfriend!"

"You wish he was," added Erik with a small smile.

"Whatever. Look, kid, do you want to go to Atlantica or not?"

"Yeah!"

Patrik slid into the water and eyed Peter with interest, "Why do you want to go so bad? Can't your parent's take you?"

Blue eyes lowered sadly and Peter shook his head. "I'm…they're not…I'm not really a merman. I need to go get something that was stolen from my friend so that she can make me a real one."

"Not a merman?" Erik eased himself back onto the edge of the iceberg, "If you aren't a merman then what are you?"

"Uh-um," Peter fiddled with his locket bashfully, "I'm a…a-"

"A what?"

"A human."

Patrik scurried back onto iceberg, "I knew it! I knew there was something unfishy about you! Tough break, man, but we can't help you."

"But Patrik," cried Willem, "he needs our help."

"He's a _human_, Will. You know how they're like."

"But-"

"Come on, please?"

"You just want to go see, Ezio."

Willem reddened again, "That's part of the reason, yeah but he could really use our help." He looked at Peter before leaning closer to whisper in his cousin's ear, "Besides your dad told us to keep him safe. We can't just let him wonder the ocean by himself."

The red head felt a tug on his other arm and he turned to see Erik staring at him with enlarged eyes, "Please, big brother?"

'Oh, jeez,' thought Patrik as the words struck at his heart strings. For years he'd begged his parents for a little brother but they had been hesitant in having more children so he had to make do with his cousin. Because of this, he'd also tried to get the little white haired merman to call big brother but had little success. And now…

Erik blinked slowly and pouted, just like he'd seen his mother do with his dad and uncle Vash. The mermaid had taught him her secret technique but warned her son not to over use it else they'd become immune. "Come on, Big Brother, it could be fun. We'll probably have an adventure along the way."

'Sweet Poseidon, not the lip. Anything but the lip!' Patrik felt his stoic mask slip when his cousin made his pout quiver with a final plea. Sighing in defeat, the red head nodded, "Fine. Fine! Let's do this. Atlantica here we come."

* * *

**I don't particularly like how this chapter came out but hopefully...yeah. I watched the documentary called Blackfish on Netflix about the Orca Whales in Seaworld T_T. It made me sad cause I really loved that place and now, well, I really wish those beautiful creatures could be happy and maybe they are but...well yeah. What do I know right? Anyway I went back and changed the blue whale out for a Orca. Yup. Tamia is Icelandic for clash of thunder or something like that. Also, yay for Willem! Lol, ever since my Angel of Notre Dame fic, I've been waiting for a chance to put him and Ezio together again. Not sure why but I think they're so cute ^_^ I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. A big thanks to everyone who has added this story in the Favorites and to their follow lists it means a lot. Also, thank you BeautyInSmallThings for adding me to your favorite author's list it made my day! If I don't get a chapter up before Christmas I would like to wish you all a very happy holiday and I hope you guys have a great week!  
**

**Until Next Time~**

**PS- I love the song in this one and would love to hear a male cover but unfortunately there isn't one T_T I hope I did it justice.**

**aycee-san: I'm glad you are lol Thank you for the review ^_^**

**Marshal Thompson: Awesome! =3**

**pastaadict: That's good to hear; that story will be updated soon ^_^ We'll see more of Elizabeta and her Uncle in the next chapter =3**

**VivaAmerica: aww lol, I'm glad you thought so. I honestly had no idea what to call them but I'm glad that Belly Bubbles did the trick ^.^**

**zoewinter1: Thank you for the review! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, don't worry. Peter is in good hands for the moment =3**


	7. Adventurers Slash Artists

**I am ashamed at how late this is. *Babbo means daddy in Italian.  
**

**Feliks/Lithuania's son**

**Latvia/Raivis: 12**

**Antonio/Lovino's son**

**OC/Fabian: 10  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia nor the songs of Little Mermaid 2: Return to the sea.**

Magyar stirred from his fainting spell, his foggy vision clearing little by little until he saw the worried face of his beloved niece. From his spot on the couch in the drawing room he could feel the warmth of the fire on his face. He yawned and stretched out, rubbing the stubble on his chin, "How long have I been asleep?"

The Hungarian sighed, "Almost a whole day uncle. Have you not been sleeping well at home?"

"I sleep fine. The trip here was- now just a second!" Memories of what transpired last night resurfaced and he began to sputter. With narrowed green eyes, Magyar sat up on the couch, "Where is that little crustacean?"

"He's a _merman_, uncle, and he's out at the moment with Prince Arthur and Alfred."

"A-a merman, heh. Yes, quite." Magyar leaned against the couch's back rest to stare at the ceiling. Had he not seen the little blue crab turn into a merman with his own eyes he would've dragged his niece back to their home in Hungry. But he had seen. He'd seen how the creature…the man, uh…fish? How he'd grown a tail and offered his hand to him like a normal person. Magyar ran a hand through his long brown hair in thought. "Dear, I have a question. How long have you two been dating?"

"A few years now." Elizabeta tapped her chin, "I'd say about ten."

"Ten. And why am I just now hearing of this?"

"I wasn't sure I could tell you, Uncle. I wanted to but the sea king didn't want many to know of their existence."

Magyar's eyes shot open, "Th-the what?"

"Sea King. His name is Robert, he's the eldest son of King Triton and Arthur's big brother, well, the oldest and-Uncle!" Elizabeta reached out and gently shook her uncle to wake him, "Please don't fall asleep again. It's not good for you to sleep so much."

"This is too much, Lizzy. _Mermen_. Sea King! Next you're going to tell me that our Prince Alfred gave up his crown because he married a Sea Prince because he was planning to join him under the sea."

"Well…"

"I was joking, dear."

"I'm not." At her uncle's expression she sighed once again. "Uncle, this is real. You know it is."

"I know that but my brain is still trying to wrap itself around the idea." The elder Hungarian massaged his temples with two fingers. Elizabeta sat next to him worried about the verdict. They sat quietly for a few minutes with only the crackling of the fireplace as a form of comfort for the anxious woman. Finally, Magyar decided to speak up, "Is this…man the reason why you look strange?"

Elizabeta's hand immediately went to her seashell pendant, "So, you've noticed then?"

Magyar snorted, "You thought that I wouldn't notice that you haven't aged since I've last seen you? Or the others for that matter? Don't offend me, child. I _am_ your uncle after all."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm the one who should be sorry." He noticed her face morph into one of confusion so he reached out and pulled her close like he used to when she scraped her knees when rough housing with Gilbert in their youth. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"It's ok, Uncle Yar Yar."

The elder man smiled into her hair at the term and held her a bit closer, "So…a merman lover, huh? How is that working out? He hasn't hurt you has he?"

"Roderich is a gentleman, uncle, he'd never hurt me." 'Although there was that one time he made me faint,' she thought to herself, though perhaps it wasn't a good idea to tell her father figure that her current boyfriend saw her in the nude before they were even acquainted. "And so far everything's been going wonderfully. He was tasked with looking after Peter so he got to stay in the castle with me."

"How…how is that going to work? Are you going to keep him a tub for the rest of his life?"

"No, Uncle. I was hoping that you'd give us your blessing. We were going to ask for it last night after the party but after everything, we figured that it was for the best if we just waited. Especially with Peter running away."

"Wait, what?" Magyar sat up straighter and pulled his niece away enough so that they could look at each other. "What do you mean he ran away?"

Elizabeta frowned at the memory, "I think it was because of what happened at the ball and from my understanding he also found out that he's connected to the sea." At her uncle's confused expression she gave elaborated, "Peter is Arthur and Alfred's son, their r_eal_ son. I can't tell you how it happened just that it did. Oh, Uncle, there is so much you don't know." She took her uncle's hand in hers took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, "It all started…"

* * *

Roderich and Robert were looking over a map of the oceans, red X's marked where they'd looked and had no luck. Kyle had come out to check on any progress but had to go back when their niece insisted that they'd make cookies to take to the mommy-kiddy tea party the next day. He and Sarah left just as Arthur returned from his search. The young sea prince had his eyebrows furrowed in worry, "Have you heard from our brother's, Bobby? Did you have any luck?"

"I'm sorry, lad." Robert ran a hand through his red hair sadly.

"I don't understand…" Arthur slumped his shoulders miserably and leaned against the rail of the wall, letting his fringe fall over his eyes. "This is all my fault."

"Arthur, you can't keep blaming yourself. You made a mistake but your heart was in the right place. Could you imagine how I would've turned out if I allowed myself to brood over every time I messed up while raising you and your brothers?"

"You did," muttered Roderich under his breath but the brothers ignored it.

"This would go so much faster if I just gave him the family ring." Arthur pulled out a white gold ring with a teal gem held in place by a nest of thin metal shaped like seashells. "Had I given him this then our rings would've glowed in the presence of his. Of course I never, n-never…" The blonde squinted and saw dark teal scales with a flash of gold. An indescribable surge of joy filled his belly, really the only silver lining in this whole mess aside from seeing his family.

"Feli," whispered Arthur to himself, a grin spreading across his face. He gave a giggle and launched himself towards the auburn haired merman with the strange curl that would defy even the worst of the underwater currents. "Feli!" The prince wrapped his arms around his best friend, pressing his chest tightly against his back. The merman gave a surprised squeak and froze.

"B-BABBO!" The little merman struggled against Arthur's embrace until he managed to escape, making a mad dash for an open door of a house.

Arthur's heart stopped and the joy was replaced with embarrassment when he heard rapid Italian exchange inside. The merman emerged, fearfully gripping onto a larger merman's arm. He stared at Arthur with wide blue eyes, his curl fizzing as he gave another yelp and buried his face against his father's tail.

Feliciano looked around to see what all the fuss was about when his eyes landed on someone he never thought he'd see again. A broad smile broke through his own face as he took in his childhood friend standing sheepishly a few paces from him. The sea prince hadn't changed much with the exception of a few lines from the stress parenthood often brings but those were easily overlooked by the lines near the corners of his eyes from the joy it brought as well. "Ve, it's been too long, si?" The Italian took a moment to gently pry his youngest son's arms from his waist and offer words of comfort before dashing straight into Arthur's waiting arms.

Robert and Roderich exchanged knowing smiles as the two friends, no, two _brothers_ reunited. They watched Arthur and Feli twirl together and hold each other closely, giggling like they did in their youth.

"Poseidon," exclaimed Arthur when they finally pulled away enough to get a good look at each other, though they didn't let go. The sea prince poked at Feliciano's new abdominal muscles and squeezed his bicep, "You sure aren't a guppy any more are you, Feli?"

The Italian giggled again and ran a hand through his slightly longer hair, "Luddy helped me. We figured that it would be a good idea if I had the means to defend our home should he ever find himself away. They're nothing compared to your older brothers or my husband." He patted his stomach fondly, "But I bet I won't get stuck like I used to should we ever go exploring." He and Arthur turned around when they heard bickering.

"I already told you, fratello," cried Ezio with annoyance. "He isn't my boyfriend."

The blonde snorted and brought his arms across his chest, "Is that so? Then why did you write him that love letter?" He took no pleasure in the blush that spread across his twin's face. It only confirmed what he feared.

Arthur took in the sight of both mermen arguing amongst themselves, "My word, are they…"

Feli sighed and nodded, "They're my first borns. Amadeus. Fabrezio," he called. The twins turned to face their father with their full attention. The older merman extended his arms in invitation, "Amadeus, figlio, what have I told you about teasing your fratellino? Let him have his little lover, it's cute."

"Papa!" Fabrezio covered his face in embarrassment while Amadeus gave a slight growl of annoyance. The boy Arthur had embraced; Marcello overcame his fear and swam closer to the group, right into his papa's arms.

The older Italian turned to Arthur with a fond smile, "Bambini." When he saw his friend's smile evaporate his own smile disappeared. He held Marcello closer to his chest, "I heard about Peter."

Arthur looked down sadly, "Ludwig and Alfred are searching via land."

"I know." Feli placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "If there's anything I can do, Artie…"

The prince placed a hand over the slightly tanned one and nodded, "Please, Feli. I could really use your help. Come look with me?"

Feli pulled out his half of the sea seashell charm and smiled, "Wild seahorses wouldn't stop me." He leaned in give Arthur two kisses on his cheeks before addressing his children. "Boys, I'm going to help my friend, ok? If you're done with your homework you can go play with Raivis and the others." The three boys gave their father a kiss before swimming away deeper into the city while Feli left with the Arthur, Roderich and Robert.

* * *

They'd been swimming steadily for an hour now, Peter, Willem and Patrik had been deep in conversation while Erik held on to his red headed cousin's hand. He looked over his shoulder to the vast blue behind them. It was odd. He couldn't help but feel like someone or something was following them and it made him uneasy. He let out his breath in a tiny stream of air bubbles making him smile. He continued to make bubbles to distract the tingle in his tail.

Peter looked over to Patrik with wide eyes, "So, you guys have never been to Atlantica?"

The red headed merman shrugged, "I lived there when I was only an infant with my dads and uncles. Then Uncle Emil got married to Aunt Lilly and Erik here was born. Later Uncle Lukas was named headmaster of Sve's Academy and that was that."

"How do you guys know the way to Atlantica then?"

"I lived in Atlantica a bit longer. My parents recently moved up here because my mom and uncle got a job at the academy as music instructors. Dad was happy enough 'cause he got to be with his brothers," said Willem as he twirled every now and again, "but I get to come down more often cause of my Uncle Tino is really good friends with my friend's dad."

"Oh."

"Yeah, but we're always up for adventures, right Erik?" Patrik gave his cousin's arm a gentle shake when his young cousin didn't respond.

Erik peered through his white bangs and nodded softly, "But I'm always up for making art more." He glanced back once again. Ok, he was almost positive that they were being followed this time. He opened his mouth to say so but was interrupted by his cousin.

"I know you do, Erik but you've got to admit that adventuring is so much more fun!" Willem swam further ahead with a grin, "Taming the tides, swarming the seas." He giggled and swam up to a random fish, "Beware barracudas drop to your knees!"

Peter's eyes widened when an actual barracuda fish caught sight of them and started chase. Patrik pulled his cousin close and grabbed the blonde prince's hand to get them to safety, "Defending your friends and anemones." The small group cautiously looked around to make sure the coast was clear before continuing on. "We may not be as big as a whale-"

Erik wiggled his chocolate and ivory colored tail, "And our fins may be small."

"We'll face our foes with our fearless flukes!" Willem pulled up his fists and punched at imaginary enemies, "Daring the ba-er dastards to put up their dukes." The young blonde merman gave a weak chuckle at Patrik's glare. Perhaps he shouldn't repeat certain words his dad and uncle would say.

Patrik rolled his eyes at his cousin and let go of Erik's and Peter's hands, "Great globs of gore, we'll storm up the shore and seek the unknown." They swam near a water volcano, startling the young mermen.

The little white haired merman jumped back into Patrik's arms with a whimper, "Then can we go home?"

They rose back up to the surface so that Willem could get a quick look of his surroundings before continuing their journey. Peter grinned, for once in the presence of others his own age, really enjoying himself. He listened to his friends happily sing as they rode the massive wave, "We're Patrik, Erik, and Willem, adventures slash-"

"Artists!" Peter giggled at how the two older cousins rolled their eyes at Erik.

"We're Patrik, Erik and Willem, adventures slash artists!" Diving back down into the sea the three younger mermen followed after Willem.

The blonde fixed the little hat on his head with a grin, "Our gallant quest to do our best and smile for our adorers. We'll save the day!"

"And make a splash," sang Peter.

"We're Patrik, Erik and Willem, adventurers slash artists." Patrik's eyes widened when they swam past a sunken ship and immediately turned back, the others swimming after him. He reached out and touched the mast in curiosity and pulled out a small sword embedded . He chuckled to himself and swung it against the beam of wood as if it were an opponent, "We'll clobber the bad guys with their evil 'cahaws'!"

Peter recognized the vessel as one of the Beilschmidt trading ships and took Erik inside to where he figured the Captain's cabin was. Forcing the lock open he pulled out a small painting of depicting water lilies and handed it over to Erik whose eyes widened with glee. With the painting clutched against his chest, Erik shyly reached for the blonde's hand to hold.

Meanwhile, Willem picked up a broken telescope and looked through it from his perch on the edge of the ship, "We'll shatter those sharks with their savage jaws. The battle is fierce-Woah!" He swam up when the ship tilted over the small trench in protest to Patrik's instant hits. The damage wasn't so bad, the ship simply turned over in itself, showering the three mermen with golden coins and other treasures. Willem squeezed himself back in to find Patrik grinning sheepishly at his cousin and new found friend.

The sea prince let out a laugh and tugged himself and the smaller merman from the pile of gold then turned to help up the red head, "The conquering heroes return as kings of the reef."

Patrik reached out for Erik's small hand and they all exited through a small crack to continue their journey pausing to wait for Willem who had found a small opalescent pearl and placed it under his hat to give it to Ezio when he saw him. Hopefully Amadeus wouldn't be with him. For some reason the slightly older twin hated Willem with a passion. Shrugging the thought away he thought of his wayward curled friend and grinned, "We'll dine with the best, dressed with flare. Climb every mountain because it's there!" He didn't care if who or what obstacle he'd have to overcome. If it meant he got to be with his best friend then it was worth it.

The red headed merman took note of his blonde cousin's blush and smirked but decided not to tease him. Instead he grabbed Peter's forearm and swam faster, "Come on, follow me, we'll make history. To courage!"

"To us!"

"The Trident," added Peter excitedly when he saw a faint golden glow ahead of them.

"We're Patrik, Erik and Willem, adventurers slash artists!"

"They're Patrik, Erik and Willem, adventurers slash artists," chirped Peter happily, "They'll save the day-"

"And make a splash! Come on, Peter!" Erik tugged at his friend's arm to make him swim a bit faster. The glow they could see was becoming more prominent which sent a wave of excitement through the young prince.

Willem and Patrik flicked their fins faster to keep up, they grinned down at the little merman who was still clutching the little painting to his chest, then at their friend. Peter returned the grin and all together they sang, "It's all for one and one for all. Atlantica, here we come!"

Peter now understood why they could see the glow miles away. His jaw dropped when he saw the kingdom of Atlantica, the entire place was made of golden colored coral. There was a thin veil covering it like a bubble but that only added to the splendor of it. His friends exchanged smiles with one another, happy to see that their capital of sorts had impressed their new friend. "I knew it, it does exist. Atlantica!"

* * *

Damien looked up from his drawing when he heard his mistress chuckle. He watched Natalya smirked before opening her red eye. She had exchanged her remaining eye with Vladimir in order to be able to see what the merman saw as he and Milen trailed after Peter. "Indeed, little comrade," she purred, "Just go on a little further." Closing her eye again she addressed the two mermen trailing after the prince and his companions, "Boys, be sure that no interferes with the prince's return. I don't want anyone to ruin this chance for me."

* * *

Peter's blue eyes took in every minute detail they could. Atlantica's beauty from the outside was nothing compared to how breathtaking it looked on the inside. Thoughts about how much his adventurous fathers would love seeing something like this briefly flowed through his mind but he shoved them as far back as he could. He turned on his back and swam backwards so that he could watch other merfolk go about their business, "Oof!"

"Oh, I'm sorry are you ok?" A small blond merman with a light sea foam green tail and reflective purple scales turned around with worried eyes. He checked Peter for any injuries, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I'm alright, no need to apologize. I should've…sh-should've-um." Peter felt his cheeks redden in shyness by the merboy in front of him. "I should've paid attention to where I was swimming," he murmured softly, looking away. "Sorry."

"No, no!" The blonde merman with feathered like hair brought his hands up to his chest and wrung them nervously, "I should be the one apologizing. You see my friends and I are playing a game and I'm supposed to be guarding our goal but…" he turned around and motioned to the group of kids ahead swimming quickly after a ball, "my team mates are really good and they hardly ever let anyone get close enough to our goal."

"Uhhuh." Peter stared at the other merman before him still enthralled to see more like him. Sure there were his new friends but…there was something about this one that-

"My name's Raivis."

"Pardon?"

Raivis smiled softly and reached out a hand to shake Peter's, "I said my name is Raivis."

"Ah, my name's Peter. Peter Dorian Jones."

"Dorian's a pretty name."

Peter blushed, "Thank you." Before he could ponder if it was proper to comment on another's tail, he blurted out a compliment making the merman before him blush as well.

"Thank you. I got it from my dads. My papa has a pink tail which is where I got the purple and pink scales, see?" When he lifted his tail to show the reflexive pink and purple the ball his team mates and opponents were chasing hit him over the head. "Ow!"

"Sorry, Raivis." Fabrezio swam up to his teammate with the ball tucked under one arm, "On the plus side, the ball didn't make it into the goal, right?" He turned to face Peter and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Ciao, I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"His name's Dorian. Peter Dorian."

Fabrezio looked at the boy up and down curiously in effort to place his face, shrugging when he couldn't. The young Italian smiled and reached out for Peter's hand, "The name's Fabrezio but you can call Ezio. Want to play with us?"

Peter, in awe from how easily he was being accepted began to nod yes when he felt his hand, or rather Ezio's hand, roughly ripped from the hand shake. The young prince turned to see Willem glaring at the Italian with the strange curl, "Really, Ezio? Do you always flirt with other boys when I'm not around?"

Ezio furrowed his brow in confusion, "What are you talking about? I was just asking him if he wanted to play with us."

"And you needed to hold his hand to do that?"

"I was just giving him and handshake, Will." Ezio smiled and reached for his friend's hand, "See? A hand shake."

"Bruder, what are you doing?" Peter watched as another blond merman came up to the Ezio, he too had a peculiar curl and he was glaring daggers at Willem.

"_Really? _Has anybody heard of a handshake?!"

"You're holding his hand awfully long for a simple handshake, bruder. Won't that one girl be jealous that you're holding some guy's hand more than you do hers?"

"What?!" Willem ripped his hand away from his friend, "So you do flirt with other people!" The blonde merman swam angrily away from the group and towards the general direction of his Uncle Vash's home.

Fabrezio gave his brother an angry look, "Why would you tell him something like that? You know how jealous he gets." Turning back towards Willem he swam after him, "Wait Will! He's lying, Patty and I are only friends. Oi! Wait up!"

Amadeus growled in annoyance and chased after his brother as well leaving behind a flustered Peter and Raivis. Raivis rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I'm very sorry you had to see that we aren't that crazy, I promise. Amadeus is really…um-"

"Insanely possessive of his baby twin brother? Yeah he is," muttered Patrik as he swam up to Peter and Raivis, Erik clutching to his hand while he looked around the city in awe. The red head addressed Peter, "You know I always tell Willem that he can try all he wants but nothing's going to happen with that brute always trailing after Ezio. Think it's bad now? Just wait till we get older."

Erik frowned, "Well, they _are_ twins, big brother." At Patrik's sudden blush he smiled to himself knowing that he struck a chord within his cousin, "They were inside that dark vessel with nobody but each other for company. I think their bond is deeper than normal siblings."

Peter giggled, "You know for a kid you really have a great perspective of things." He saddened, "I wish kids on the surface were more like you guys."

Raivis furrowed his eyebrows in confusion ,"Surface? You're from the surface? Like a human?!"

"I-uh-"

"Never mind that," interrupted Patrik, now tugging both his cousin and Peter along towards the castle, "We are actually in a hurry."

"But-"

"We have to go find that _thing_, Peter," hissed the redhead.

"R-right. Um, goodbye Raivis, it was nice meeting you!" Peter sent a wave over his shoulder and allowed Patrik to usher him along.

Raivis waved back, "It was nice meeting you, too. Maybe we can play when you find what you're looking for!"

"Yeah, sure maybe!" The young prince gave a soft grunt when Patrik gave a small yank at his arm. "What?"

"Are you crazy?!" Patrik rolled his eyes, "You almost blew our cover! Do you have any idea who that is?"

"Raivis?"

"Yeah. That's Toris's son. He could tell his dad that we're headed this way and then we'll never find what you're looking for."

"Whose Toris?"

"He's the guy who is always talking to the sea king," murmured Erik. "Why are we even going to the castle anyway?"

"Cause I think that's where they keep the treasure. That's what you're looking for right, Peter? Your friend's treasure?"

"I think to her it is." Peter lightly touched his locket in thought, "It kinda looks like a fork to me."

"Like that?"

Peter followed Erik's pale finger towards the Trident on its stand, "Golly. Yeah, that's it. Come on let's go grab-woah! Patrik what are you-"

"Shh!" Patrik pulled his friend and cousin behind a column as a group of merfolk set out a table before the throne. A mermaid draped a white cloth over it before two others placed a few plates on it. When they retreated for more things he motioned for them to follow him, Erik curling his tail under him. The young prince lifted the table cloth and lowered it quickly again with a gasp. "What?"

"He's out there."

"Who?"

"The guy who stole the fork from my friend. He killed her brother and took it."

"Woah, woah wait." Patrik wrapped an arm around Erik's small shoulders and glared through the table cloth, "killed?"

"Yeah," murmured Peter as he lifted the cloth again. It was strange. For some reason he didn't feel scared as he probably should be. The merman pacing back and forth near the throne was a sight in itself. His entire tail was covered with golden scales that reflected darker tones with every swish it gave. His torso was well toned but he looked like he hadn't eaten all day. Or slept given the dark circles under his piercing green eyes. What surprised Peter the most was probably his eyebrows. They weren't as bushy as his or his papa's but they certainly were thick. He wore thick gold cuffs around his wrists, noted Peter when dropped them to his sides with a sigh before dropping himself onto his throne.

Robert tugged at his red locks to relieve his headache. Things were certainly not looking good but he didn't want to tell Arthur that. Christian and the twins had already reported back stating that the oceans between the new world and Australia were quiet while David reported that no one had seen or heard from Peter in the Oriental waters. "Man," he whispered to himself, "This is the worst thing that's happened to this family since our parents died." The sea king pulled out a large seashell framing a picture of his nephew as an infant. Feli had painted it for him after they learned that Arthur would postpone his and his family's return to the sea. That and the correspondence Ludwig would bring in helped alleviate the heart break he and his brothers felt by not having their baby sibling with them.

The young prince bit his lower lip, "He seems so sad. That guy doesn't _look_ dangerous." Peter wondered if perhaps Natalya had made a mistake on the identity of her brother's killer.

"I wouldn't judge a merman by his scales, Pete. Besides the fork is right next to that chair. Obviously, he's the thief."

"I guess…"

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Peter dropped the white cloth with a gasp. He heard Erik whimper from behind him. Chancing another peek his eyes widened at the new mermen hovering next to the red head. He had an olive colored tail and dark auburn hair with a funny looking curl. His eyes flared in anger at his subordinates and he yelled again, "You guys really think we're just going to sit around for a meal when the sea prince is out there missing?!"

"Lovi's right." Robert stood back up, anger rising in his belly as he made his way towards the table. "We don't have time for this. I want every available merman out there searching!" He slammed his heavy fists onto the table, startling the three mermen underneath. The sea king turned around to look at his guards and servants, "Find him. Find my nephew!"

In his anger, his tail swished rougher than usual. The current it made the table drag along the floor and away from him. The merfolk scurried to do their king's bidding. Peter dashed to hide inside a large planter while Patrik and Erik swam back under the table, knocking a plate over in the process. Lovi noticed the table shake subtly as if something were underneath it. "Bet it's that damn turtle my idiot husband bought Fabian," he muttered to himself. Antonio had wanted a pet and between him and the adorable child that was their son, the duo had managed to convince Lovi to allow them get one. What he hadn't counted on, though he really should've seen it coming, was Antonio coming home with not one or two or even three but six little turtles. Now the Italian had to deal with them following him to work and finding them in the oddest of places. The only plus side was that they weren't tail nibblers to which he was very grateful of.

Erik buried his face in his cousin's neck and tried to curl himself as tightly as he could into a ball on his lap. He let out a small whimper of fear, "Big brother?"

"Hmm?" Patrik brought his tail up to try and roll himself into a ball as well. "What is it?"

"I-if we don't make it through this, I want to apologize for saying that your pictures aren't art. I think they came out very well for someone with no artistic talent."

The older merman gave a breathy chuckle. Leave it to his baby cousin to find a way to insult is lack of artistic skills through a compliment. "It's ok. I'm sorry about that thing on the club house's."

"What thing?" Erik pulled back and glared at his cousin through his white fringe, "That was you who painted over the mural I made?!"

"Shh! Yeah, and I'm _really_ sorry."

Erik was about to retort but decided against it when a shadow loomed threateningly through the table cloth. Lovino was about to lift it up to retrieve the turtle when Roderich suddenly swam in, "Bobby, Lovi. Your brothers have returned." Peter watched as both mermen followed the plum tailed merman out the room.

As soon as they were away from sight, Peter rushed to the Trident, the nagging thought that he had heard that voice somewhere before shoved to the back of his head. Unfortunately that did push the thought about how sad the golden tailed merman had appeared which brought on the possibility that Natalya had been mistaken. His hands paused in mid reach for the Trident.

"Oh, sure take your time, Pete." Patrik and his cousin came out from under the table. "Why don't we just sit back and wait for Mr. Anger Issues comes back and kill us?!"

"Sorry." The young prince held onto the golden shaft of the Trident tightly, the metal glowing brightly in acknowledgement. Peter tugged on it until it came out of the shell with a small pop. "Wow, this feels strange. Powerful! With this I'm sure Miss Natalya will make my tail permanent!"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just go before they come back."

"What about Willem?"

"He'll meet us at the surface," assured Patrik. "But for now we need to get out of here. Come on lets go."

"Wait my necklace," cried Peter in alarm when he couldn't feel the heavy medallion around his neck. His blue eyes zeroed in on it resting against the shell the Trident was sitting in.

"I'm sure, he'll turn up soon," rumbled a concerned voice. Robert was coming back! Erik looped his arms around Peter's own while Patrik looked them through his right and both Nordics led their friend out and back to the surface, the latter struggling to return for his necklace. He gave up when he saw that the man was returning with more mermen and decided that perhaps it was for the best.

"Ve, he's right, Arthur." Feli gently squeezed his friends hand in reassurance, "We'll find him."

Arthur tried to smile but it came out more of a grimace, his eyes widening when he realized that the stand next to the throne was empty, "Robert, the Trident!"

"But that's not possible," muttered Lovino, his eye brows furrowed. "Only you can remove it from this stand. Well, you or one of your brothers."

Roderich picked up the necklace, "Or someone of your blood line. Look."

"But this is Peter's. How could he have possibly gotten down here? Even with his lungs I doubt that he would've found Atlantica by chance. Not to mention we would've been informed if someone saw a human swimming about the kingdom."

The sea prince exchanged glances with his brother, "You don't think Natalya has something to do with this do you?"

"It wouldn't surprise me, baby brother." Robert rubbed his stubbled chin worriedly, "This is bad, Artie. If she gets a hold of my Trident…Lovi, send word to the others. I want my brothers back as soon as possible and tell the remaining guards that they are to double the search parties! I want _every _creature on patrol."

The older Italian nodded quickly and did as he was told. Robert patted Arthur's shoulder before heading out to do some more searching himself, leaving behind Roderich with his two previous charges, "Arthur please forgive me. I never meant for any of this to happen. I should've been more insistent and kept him inside, I should've…"

His rant fell on deaf ears. Arthur was too busy listening to his friend whisper words of comfort and enjoying the light massage Feli was giving his shoulders. Two shadows caught their attention. "Ve, Artie did you see that?"

"Yeah, who the bloody hell is that?" Arthur squinted his eyes above him to see their faces better, letting out a small gasp when he placed them. "I know those two."

"You do? Who are they?"

"R-remember that one time in high school when you and I pretended to date because these two guys wouldn't leave us alone?"

Feli flushed at that, "Yeah…"

"That's them."

The Italian's face darkened considerably. He remembered that they did more than just mess with them in their youth. They were also present the day of Peter's debut but not many recognized them in their stingray form. "Bold of them in the palace." Amber eyes followed Milen and Vladimir as the two mermen smirked their way and swam casually out.

"Let's follow them."

"Ok."

Both mermen swam after the stingray prone mermen leaving behind Roderich who, in his monologue failed to notice that he was now alone in the throne room. The spectacled merman sat on the Trident's stand, "If I had only paid attention to the signs. I mean I knew he wasn't happy but I couldn't say anything to you, Arthur, without blowing our cover. You didn't know Robert had me watching over you and Peter. Peter didn't know his uncle had me assigned as his caretaker. Hell, as far as he knew, he could speak to animals. But I swear to you this, when we find him, I'll always keep my eye on him and report back as soon as I see something funny. I'll be diligent!" Roderich curled his fingers into a determined fist and pumped it into the air, "I promise that nothing will _ever_ get past me!"

Roderich smiled to himself, "What do you say, Arthur? Hmm? Arthur? Feli?" Looking around the room, the dark haired merman cursed. "Oh, come on!"

* * *

**Hm. Well, Happy New Year for one. I hope everyone had a great holiday, mine was hectic which is part of the reason as to why I didn't update this story. Anther reason has to do with my school; had to apply to another college in order to get an credit for Microbio. Hate that they're not offering it at the one I'm going to now so we'll see how that goes...having to commute to two institutions literally on opposite sides of the city. Anyway, that's been taken care of so I should be posting the next chapter soon. I see two chapters for this story to wrap up: one ending and one epilouge. Thank you to everyone who has been with me so far it means so much. I'm VERY VERY sorry for this chapter to have taken so long to be posted T_T  
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**Feliciano isn't buff or anything he just gained a bit of muscle in comparison to his youth. I noticed that he did in the latest season of Hetalia and wanted to incorporate that. I know how he and Arthur interact may seem a bit strange, almost like lovers but I assure you it's not. In The Little Merman I explained that I always thought that merfolk were affectionate creatures, even more so because these two are best friends. Not to mention they haven't seen each other in twelve years...so yeah lol. Just wanted to get that out of the way.**

**Also, Patrik and Erik didn't see who the Trident actually belongs to nor are they aware of what Robert looks like. They know of him though but don't have a face for the name.  
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**Until Next Time~  
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**Marshal Thompson: Thank you! I hope you had a wonderful holiday as well. ^_^  
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**VivaAmerica: Thank you so much for the review! I hope that this chapter makes up for the long wait.**

**zoewinter1: I know T_T and I just made him do something bad. Thanks for the review =3 **

**pastaadict: Thank you for the review ^.^ I wanted to make it so that even sea creatures could be mean to break Peter's illusion that everyone is perfect in the sea but I hope I made up for it by the rest of the children being friendly, lol for the most part. Also, thank you so much for the review for Love Has No Recipe. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. It was a long wait for that one too T_T**

**aycee-san: I'm happy to hear that =3 Erik is starting to grow on me too lol he's just so cute! I hope you liked reunion between the two long lost friends. **

**Sandra DeNite: I'm very sorry that I didn't update soon T_T but I'm glad you like the trio and Peter! Thank you so much for the review, it made me smile lol =3**


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